This exhibition in the first floor lounge of CGIS South features a selection of treasured items from the collection of the Za Library (Zashuguan 雜書館) and from the Harvard-Yenching Library. The Za Library is the biggest privately-owned library in mainland China that is open to the public. The Harvard librarians have also made available a small selection from the vast collection of the Harvard-Yenching Library as an accompaniment and complement of the Za Library materials on display. There are Tang manuscript copies, Song printed editions, Liao and Xixia printed sutras (in Chinese and Tangut), Ming and Qing clan lineages and local gazetteers, autographs by prominent late Qing and early Republican personages, and a large trove of popular materials from the late nineteenth through early twentieth century. The joint exhibition is designed to give the audience a taste of these two excellent library collections and to prompt us to reflect on the nature and significance of archival and private collecting in modern China.

With thanks to Xiaofei Tian, Wilt Idema, Gao Xiaosong, Xiaohe Ma, Sharon Yang, Michael Szonyi, Daniel Murphy, and Marian Lee. Curated by James Evans, Xiao Ge, and Annie Wang.