Chapter 29 Section 3 The Establishment of Public Libraries in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China

In ancient China, official and private collections of books, generally speaking, were for a few people to read and use. This situation is in line with the fact that cultural undertakings in the feudal era were controlled by a few people.In the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1898), during the Reformation, the Reformers advocated enlightening the wisdom of the people, advocating new learning, following the example of Western countries, and setting up public libraries to allow the public to borrow books.In addition to the traditional Chinese classics, history, zi, and anthology, it is required to collect modern western natural science and social science books.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Qing government was forced to implement the so-called New Deal, such as the abolition of imperial examinations, the establishment of schools, and the establishment of public libraries.The first library in China - Zhejiang Library was officially opened in the 29th year of Guangxu (AD 1903).The libraries of Hubei, Fujian, and Hunan provinces were opened the following year.In the 32nd year of Guangxu (AD 1906), the Qing government ordered all provinces to build libraries, and in the 33rd year of Guangxu (AD 1907), Jiangsu Guoxue Library was established.In the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu (AD 1908), the Zhili Provincial Library was established in Tianjin (May), and the Fengtian Provincial City Library was established in Shenyang (September).In the first year of Xuantong (AD 1909), the provincial libraries of Shaanxi, Yunnan, Henan, Shandong, Guangxi, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Zhili (Baoding) and the capital library were established.According to statistics, nearly 20 libraries were established in various provinces and cities across the country before and after the Revolution of 1911, which brought my country's library industry into a brand new period.

After the Revolution of 1911, the Guangdong Provincial Library in 1912, the Anhui Provincial Library in 1913, and the Jingshi Popular Library were successively established.Subsequently, the provinces successively established provincial libraries.Gansu established the Provincial Lanzhou Library in 1916, Shanxi established the Shanxi Education Book Museum in 1920, Jiangxi established the Jiangxi Provincial Public Library in 1920, Suiyuan established the Suiyuan Provincial Library in Guisui (now Hohhot) in 1926, Xinjiang in 1930 Xinjiang Provincial Library was established in 1934, Ningxia Provincial Library was established in Ningxia in 1934, Qinghai Provincial Library was established in Qinghai in 1935, Shanghai Municipal Library was established in Shanghai in 1936, Guizhou Provincial Library was established in Guizhou in 1937, and Sichuan was established in Sichuan in 1940 Provincial libraries, Xikang Provincial Library was established in Xikang in 1941, Taiwan Provincial Library was established in April 1946 in Taiwan, Rehe Provincial Library was established in Rehe in 1941, and Chahar Provincial Library was established in Chahar in 1947.At the same time, two national libraries were established in Nanjing and Lanzhou in 1933 and 1943 respectively: one was the National Central Library and the other was the National Lanzhou Library.The Central Library opened for reading in September 1936.The Anti-Japanese War broke out in July of the following year, and the museum moved to Chongqing. In January 1941, the Chongqing Branch of the Central Library was built.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Chongqing Branch Library handed over all the general books and equipment in Chinese and Western languages ​​to the Chongqing Roosevelt Library. In May 1946, the Central Library moved back to Nanjing, and in 1949 it was renamed Nanjing Library.The National Lanzhou Library was opened in July 1944 and closed in April 1945, and the books and equipment were handed over to the Northwest Normal University for safekeeping. In September 1946, it was restored by order, and in August 1949, it was renamed the Northwest People's Library.

In addition, some provinces and cities have established several provincial libraries and municipal popular libraries in different regions, which are: Nanjing Popular Library (1927), Tianjin City Library (1929), Tianjin Seven Popular Books Library (1929), Chongqing Popular Library, Guangxi Provincial Nanning Library (1931), Jiangsu Provincial Zhenjiang Library (1932), Yunnan Provincial Kunming Library (1936), Jiangxi Provincial Library Jiujiang Library (1939).By the end of December 1947, there were three national libraries in my country, 34 provincial libraries and 19 municipal libraries in 28 provinces.

On the basis of the general establishment of provincial-level public libraries in all provinces, some provinces with relatively developed economies and cultures have begun to establish county-level libraries.According to statistics in 1925, there were 259 public libraries across the country. Except for provincial libraries and municipal libraries, most of the rest were county-level libraries.Among them, the number of libraries in the southeastern coastal provinces is relatively large, and Jiangsu is the most developed in the southeastern coastal areas.There were 56 county-level libraries in Jiangsu Province at that time, and the county-level libraries in Suzhou, Nantong, Wuxi and other places were relatively large. Taking Nantong County Library as an example, it had a collection of more than 100,000 volumes and 67 buildings. The best county-level library. In 1935, there were 903 general libraries. In 1936 it increased to 1502.It should be said that the late Qing Dynasty and the period of the Republic of my country were a new stage in the development of library undertakings in our country.