A HISTORICAL APPROACH: FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WESTERN RARE BOOKS

Deputy Director of the National Library of China, Zhang Zhiqing, once talked about the private

collection market of Western rare books in an interview, ‘Only when Western rare books attract the interest of collectors of our own country, can we say our culture of collection is truly internationally-oriented.’*1 By the same token, it can be justified that a city is closely connected with the world in cultural terms if its public library holds a rich collection of books in Western languages. Despite being a small city with a small population, Macao boasts a Western rare book collection which should not be underestimated, with countless ‘treasures’ hidden in the IACM Building Library alone.

*1: quoted from the article headlined Culture Continues in the People in Issue 998 of Chinese Social Sciences Today dated 1 July 2016.

Whether you have seen the photos from the Internet or visited the IACM Bui lding Library in person, you will be immediately enchanted by the interior design that resembles the scenes of Harry Potter films. The time-freezing ability is not common for all libraries, besides, this is the library with the richest collection of Western rare books in Macao! These two features are reasons convincing enough for you to visit and explore the Library.

History and Style of Architectural Design

The IACM Building Library, which is under the Department of Public Library Management of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, was inaugurated in 1929 featuring a design based on the library of the Convent of Mafra in Portugal, which fills the Library itself with an elegant and classical atmosphere. Preserved in the Library are two deluxe rooms bearing quite typical features of European classical design, along with rows of wooden bookshelves densely stacked up to the ceiling of the four walls. When you tilt up your head and look around, you will find what is really extraordinary about the ceiling – the ceiling is adorned with gold relief patterns carved with a classical touch reproducing the rococo style in the days of King Louis XV. Here readers can immerse themselves in the literati ambience while having a taste of a European aristocrats’ life of luxury in the past.

The first public library of Macao was established as early as in 1895 – the Macao National Library, which was affiliated to Liceu de Macau (Liceu National School of Macao) and later relocated together with the School several times until the inauguration of the Leal Senado Building. The Library, which was then moved into the Building, became the only public library of Macao at the time and now the IACM Building Library. It is also the predecessor of Macao Central Library.

Abundant Collection of Western Rare Books

The IACM Building Library houses a collection of around 20,000 books and periodicals written on a wide variety of fields in many Western languages, including Portuguese, English, French, Spanish and Latin, among others. The collection consists of items under many dif ferent subjects such as literature, history, geography, medicine, law and sinology. Some of the rare books were private collections donated by the Portuguese and Macanese people living in Macao, and some by former government departments and organizations.

‘This book is already over 300 years old. It was written by the first French Jesuit member in China, Nicolas Trigault (1577-1628). It is very small in size, just like our pocketbooks, because people in those days travelled by horse and books published in this size were convenient for them to put into the small box of the leather strap, take out and read at any time,’ Stella Lee Shuk Yee of the IACM Building Library eagerly introduced the different rare books lying on the table. ‘I will close those rare books after reading as they are very old now. It would be very tiring for them to keep bending their trunks backwards.’ Always cherishing rare books like her friends, Stella said all rare books in the Library are her best ‘silent friends’ – they do not utter a word but have a lot of stories and knowledge to be unveiled.

Stella is highly proficient in English, French and Portuguese, and has been studying Western rare books in the Library for over a decade. In her opinion, a book which is considered ‘rare’ must meet the requirements of 3A2S: Age, Aesthetics, Association, Scarcity and Subject. She has committed herself to rare book studies on sinology and related fields, and hopes to change the public’s preconception of rare books being ‘boring’: ‘I’d love to get everybody to realize the beauty of Chinese culture and of Chinese characters. Actually, foreigners started to study Chinese and Chinese culture hundreds of years ago, and the rare books placed in front of us have borne witness to that. The dictionaries they compiled not only give explanations to the character itself, but also cultural connotations behind it.’ With her gloves on, Stella carefully showed us An English and Chinese Dictionary compiled by Robert Morrison (1782-1834) and said, ‘For instance, the Dictionary not only explains the literal meaning of the word “lantern enigma” but also give examples; the character “ 月” (moon) written in a tilted way has a hidden meaning of “tilted moon”. All these are clearly indicated in the Dictionary.’

Rare book studies cannot be accomplished overnight due to the wide areas of knowledge covered. ‘It is like solving riddles when conducting studies on rare books. After all, it is a kind of humanities study that might be perceived differently by each individual… which means what I said would not be absolutely correct. Yet I enjoy the process very much. Sometimes, when you are unable to get over a point in one book, put it down and one day you might find another point in a different book, which connects the previous point into a line and then further expands into a surface. This is how these “old friends” of mine keep pushing me to learn different things and delve deeply into them, which has brought endless joy to me’, said Stella with a smile.

Stella showing to us Regni Chinensis Descriptio, a rare book of over 300 years in history written by Nicolas Trigault.

Collision and Exchange: A Synopsis of Rare Books in Foreign Languages in Macao Central Library

Stella has compiled a book titled Collision and Exchange: A Synopsis of Rare Books in Foreign Languages in Macao Central Library, based upon the foreign rare books she studied in the Library. The book consists of titles and synopses of 114 most representative rare books in foreign languages housed in the Macao Central Library, including the first-ever Portuguese newspaper published in the Chinese territory (Macao) by means of movable type printing; the Macao-published On the Poetry of Chinese by Sir John Francis Davis who resided in Macao prior to the establishment of Hong Kong as a free port and became the second Governor of Hong Kong afterwards; and translations of the Sacred Edict of the Kangxi Emperor (Shengyu guangxun) in English, French, Portuguese and Latin, among other works.

Here we have selected several Western rare books which are the most representative of the library collection, with some recording the Sino-Portuguese treaty of commerce during the Qing Dynasty and some being dictionaries used by missionaries to spread Chinese and Western cultures in the past. These books, which mainly served as reference books of the time, now bear important value in historical studies and significant witness to Sino-Western cultural exchange in Macao.

1 - An English and Chinese Dictionary

Robert Morrison (1782-1834)

An English and Chinese Dictionary was compiled by Robert Morrison (1782-1834), a missionary to China from the London Missionary Society in 1807, and published by P. P. Thoms in Macao in 1822. The Dictionary is the third part of the publication – A Dictionary of the Chinese Language, in Three Parts – that comprises six volumes in three parts. Morrison added quite a few terminologies therein and made comparisons between knowledge from the West and China at that time, seeking to introduce Western concepts that had yet to be developed in China.

2 - Regni Chinensis Descriptio

Nicolas Trigault (1577-1628)

Regni Chinensis Descriptio, the first volume of The Notes on China of Father Matteo Ricci, is a rare book in Latin written by Nicolas Trigault (1577- 1628), mainly introducing to Western people Chinese history, geography and culture. The rare book was published by Elzeviriana in 1639 in the size of 11 x 6 x 2cm.

3 - Diccionario china-portuguez

by J. A. GonНalves

Macao: Real Collegio de S. JosО, 1833

Compiled by Portuguese Sinologist Joaquim Afonso GonНalves (1781-1841) and published by the Real Collegio de S. JosО in 1833, the Diccionario china-portuguez is one of the important reference books and the earliest Chinese-Portuguese dictionary among other existent counterparts in Macao. The Sinologist was a member of the Congregation of Priests of the Mission–a reputed congregation in Macao–and was deemed as the most influential Sinologist of the time.

4 - A Chinese Dictionary in the Cantonese Dialect

by Ernest John Eitel

Hong Kong: Lane Crawford, 1877

Ernest John Eitel (1838-1908), born in Württemberg, Germany, became a missionary after joining the Basel Mission in his early years and stayed in China for almost 30 years. In 1859, he was sent to Lilang District in Xin’an County (latterly known as Bao’an County), Guangdong for missionary work. Later in 1865, he transferred to the London Missionary Society and was responsible for missionary work in Poklo region of the Hakka inhabitant area in Guangdong. In 1870, he started working for the Hong Kong Government, having served as an adviser for foreign affairs and an interpreter for the Hong Kong Supreme Court. He also made certain contributions to the establishment of the Po Leung Kuk in Hong Kong. Eitel transliterated the tones of Cantonese based upon a predecessor’s work dedicated to the studies–A Tonic Dictionary of the Chinese Language in the Canton Dialect, seeking to standardize Cantonese tones by revising any incorrectness therein.

Apart from books, the IACM Building Library also houses 49 old newspapers in foreign languages published between 1822 and 1957.

1 -   The China Bee (A Abelha da China)

The China Bee was established in Macao on 12 September 1822 by the Portuguese of the Constitutional Party after they overthrew the Conservative Party, with the editor-in-chief being a reformist Dominican friar. A total of 67 issues had been published before it was suspended on 27 December 1823 due to the restoration of the monarchy in Portugal.

2 - Echo Macaense

The Chinese-Portuguese bilingual newspaper Echo Macaense was established in 1893 (19th year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign of the Qing Dynasty). The Chinese version, under the name of《鏡海叢報》, was later discontinued in 1895 and the Portuguese version, named Echo Macaense: Seminário Luso Chinez, in 1899. Despite different content in the two versions, both primarily published about political, economic and social matters, among others, and were printed by Tipografia Mercantil founded in 1855 with the printer and publisher being Nicolau Tolentino Fernandes. Being the first newspaper in modern China that was closely related to the bourgeois class and the democratic reform, it recorded Dr Sun Yat-sen’s activities in Macao and Guangzhou, therefore serving as important reference for the study of his life.

Apart from books, the IACM Building Library also houses 49 old newspapers in foreign languages published between 1822 and 1957.

1 -   The China Bee (A Abelha da China)

The China Bee was established in Macao on 12 September 1822 by the Portuguese of the Constitutional Party after they overthrew the Conservative Party, with the editor-in-chief being a reformist Dominican friar. A total of 67 issues had been published before it was suspended on 27 December 1823 due to the restoration of the monarchy in Portugal.

2 - Echo Macaense

The Chinese-Portuguese bilingual newspaper Echo Macaense was established in 1893 (19th year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign of the Qing Dynasty). The Chinese version, under the name of《鏡海叢報》, was later discontinued in 1895 and the Portuguese version, named Echo Macaense: Seminário Luso Chinez, in 1899. Despite different content in the two versions, both primarily published about political, economic and social matters, among others, and were printed by Tipografia Mercantil founded in 1855 with the printer and publisher being Nicolau Tolentino Fernandes. Being the first newspaper in modern China that was closely related to the bourgeois class and the democratic reform, it recorded Dr Sun Yat-sen’s activities in Macao and Guangzhou, therefore serving as important reference for the study of his life.

Western Rare Books being Highly Sought after in Auction Markets

For the past decade, western rare books have become increasingly recognized in Chinesespeaking regions. Libraries and private collectors acquire foreign rare books mainly through auction, which itself has a history of over 260 years – many of the early auctions of Sotheby’s and Christie’s were auctions of foreign rare books. For instance, a rare book of the IACM Building Library collection, the pocket book Regni Chinensis Descriptio mentioned above, appeared at an auction in Mainland China. It attracted intense bidding among collectors and was eventually sold at a high price of CNY72,800.

Another special author group that enjoy equal status and respect as missionaries is the envoys. They visited China in droves in the 18th century as official representatives of their home countries and subsequently published memoirs of their journeys upon returning home. The most well-known of them is An Historical Account of the Embassy to the Emperor of China written by the deputy of the embassy and 1st Baronet Sir George Staunton, which was published in English in two volumes in London in 1797. The first volume contains the portrait of the Emperor Qianlong illustrated by the embassy’s draughtsman William Alexander, while the second volume contains the portrait of Lord Macartney by Thomas Hickey. Two copies of the documentary records, in English and French, have been recently sold at auctions for a good price of CNY24,640 and CNY35,840, respectively.

(Source: article headlined Cathay Bookshop autumn auctions 2010 unveils new exciting items, putting up thread-bound large-character books for first auction on China Press dated 19 November 2010)

What other libraries in the Greater Bay Area collect Western rare books?

Sun Yat-sen University Library

The Treasure Hall in Sun Yat-sen University Library in Guangzhou collects a large number of invaluable Western texts including documents in English, German, French and Latin from the 17th to early 20th century, many of which are even first editions. Chinarelated foreign books are especially precious. The Chinese Repository, for example, is a typical publication on China written from foreigners’ perspectives, thus serving as significant reference.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library houses a special collection of western-language works published before 1900 including the well known An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China written by Sir George Staunton (1798), The Costume of China by George Henry Mason (1800), La Chine et les Chinois by Pierre-Henri-Stanislas d'Escayrac de Lauture (1877) and Peking: Histoire et Description by Alphonse Favier (1897).

University of Macau Library

The rare books in the Rare Book Collection Room in the University of Macau Library were acquired through purchase and donation – mostly donation by Mr Ho Yin （何 賢）and Mr Chan Kwan-po（ 陳君葆）. There are approximately 1,250 types of Western rare books and early publications, most of which were literary works published in European countries and the United States between 1890 and 1920 as well as early publications from Macao. Upon the closing of its Portuguese section in July 1999, the Colégio Dom Bosco donated, with the help of one of the teachers Ana Bella, 2,500 books to the University including about 500 types of western rare books and Macao publications from earlier times.