Historic Chinese Treasure Trove

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Historic Chinese
        Treasure Trove

As a further sign of TAU's growing expertise in the field of East Asia, the University's Department of East Asian Studies, Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities, has acquired an impressive 20,000 volume Chinese Book Collection. The Collection -- the largest of its kind in Israel -- makes TAU the leading center for Sinological studies in the country.

Housed at TAU's Sourasky Central Library, the Collection comprises approximately 10,000 volumes in Chinese and 10,000 volumes in Western languages, including audio-visual and multimedia materials for teaching Chinese. Prof. Aron Shai, Chairperson of the Department of East Asian Studies, said that the "Chinese Book Collection is the cornerstone of the newly- established department and is the very foundation for further study and research in the field."

"The Collection will not only further East Asian Studies at TAU, it will be an invaluable resource for researchers and business people throughout Israel and for foreign ministry officials," said Director of the Collection, Dr. Meir Shahar of the Department, at the inaugural ceremony of the Collection. The event was attended by Ambassador of China to Israel, Wang Chang-Yi, and cultural attache to the Embassy, Che Zhao-He. TAU President Professor Yoram Dinstein noted that the Collection is a further sign of the strengthening relations between TAU and Chinese academia, and expressed his confidence that the collection would continue to grow.

The Collection includes Sinological materials and research tools not available anywhere else in Israel. The masterpiece is a photographic copy in 1,500 volumes of the so-called Si-Ku quan-Shu -- an impressive anthology of 3,461 literary works covering subjects as diverse as history, literature, poetry, philosophy, geography, and military strategy -- which was edited by a team of 18th century scholars working at the court of the Qianlong Emperor who reigned from 1736-1795.

Also included in the Collection are photographic copies of the complete Chinese Buddhist canon, the 15th-17th century Taoist canon, classical novels, plays, poetry, and classical Chinese philosophy. One of the largest series in the collection, consisting of 3,999 volumes, is the Cong-shu ji-cheng, an anthology of classical Chinese prose which was published in Shanghai during the first decades of the 20th century. The Collection also includes beautifully illustrated albums showing how Buddhism entered China via the silk route.

The Chinese Collection at TAU is not limited to traditional China. It includes major works of modern Chinese fiction and history, as well as encyclopedias, concordances, indices, dictionaries, and other reference works. The Collection subscribes to some 30 scientific journals as well as to several Chinese daily newspapers and hopes to soon acquire complete sets of Chinese newspapers on CD-ROM dating back to 1949.

During the inauguration ceremony, Professor Dinstein awarded Mr. Göran Nisell, TAU Board Member and Chairman of the Israel-Sweden Friendship Association, a certificate of appreciation for helping make possible the translation of a section of the Mishna, "Pirkei Avot" ("The Sayings of the Fathers"), into Chinese. Dr. Dan Simon, Director of the Sourasky Library, was awarded a certificate in appreciation for his help in acquiring books and allotting space for the Collection in the library. The ceremony was followed by a lecture delivered by Prof. Shai entitled "China and Hong Kong 1997: Historical Analogies and Future Prospects."