Library History: Seeking the Origin of the Chinese Library from Its Tradition

摘要

The establishment of the "modern" Chinese library system has always been under dispute: some scholars held that it was the continuation of Chinese traditional book chambers. At the same time, others viewed its appearance as the result of the modernization process. In essence, this dispute reflected different ideas on Chinese social reformation's motivation. Though the western models had contributed some experiences to the foundation of contemporary Chinese public library systems, the four types of old libraries (the governmental library, educational library, religious library and private library) had already been conceived and had accumulated many of the so-called "modern" factors before Western experience was imported.