The History of the Chinese Book

Presented by UCLA East Asian Library and UCLA Library Special Collections
Featured Speaker: Dr. Li Kaisheng, curator at the Tianyi Ge Library (est. 1561)
In this three-part webinar series, Dr. Li Kaisheng will present a series of lectures on the history of the Chinese book. Dr. Li's series of talks will serve to highlight the importance of Chinese rare books, as well as introduce the history of China's oldest continually operating Library.
The talks will be delivered in Chinese with live English audio translation.
Friday, June 11, 2021, 6 p.m. PST
In this talk, Dr. Li will discuss the importance of 'material bibliography' for the study of premodern Chinese books. This talk will describe the basic principles of Chinese bibliographical analysis as it is currently practiced.
Friday, June 18, 2021, 6 p.m. PST
This talk will offer a deep-dive introduction to the most important skill of Chinese bibliography, recognizing the major characteristics of different styles of characters across time and place.
Friday, June 25, 2021, 6 p.m. PST
Additional details to follow.
Jiao Bingzhen, “Yu zhi Geng zhi tu,” Qing dynasty between 1736 and 1795. Wood engraving. UCLA Library; Image credit: Chunfang Xu