Collection of Valuable Electronic Rare Books

Books serve as a medium for humanity to record thoughts, wisdom and disseminate knowledge. The precious rare books passed down through generations are truly the “gems of civilisation”.

In recent years, the Public Library of the Cultural Affairs Bureau has been actively digitizing its collection of rare books. This initiative aims to provide the general public with easy access to these “gems of civilisation” via an electronic platform, leveraging modern technology to promote wider dissemination of ancestral knowledge and wisdom. The completed collection of digitized rare books currently includes:

The first batch of digitized rare books, the 16 sets of books from the Jiaye Book Library Tower, formerly collected by Liu Chenggan during the Qing Dynasty, and the Gazetteer of Xiangshan County, published during the Qing Emperor Qianlong, represent the most important collections of the Chinese Ancient Books Chamber at Sir Robert Ho Tung Library. These comprise a total of 654 volumes, converted into over 35,000 electronic images. Among these, the Manuscript Draft of the Siku Quanshu Synopsis by Weng Fanggang stands out as particularly valuable. It constitutes the most complete surviving original record of the compilation for the Siku Quanshu and its annotated catalog (Siku Quanshu Zongmu), making it highly significant for Siku Quanshu studies. Given its importance in the compilation history of the Siku Quanshu, and the fact that it is the authentic manuscript of Weng Fanggang, a renowned Qing Dynasty scholar and calligrapher, it processes immense historical, academic and artistic value. In 2010, the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China included the Manuscript Draft of Siku Quanshu Synopsis by Weng Fanggang in the National Catalogue of Precious Ancient Books.

The Books Chamber houses 99 volumes of the Ming Dynasty manuscript of Taiping Yulan (Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era), with only 1 volume missing. Several block-printed editions from the Song Dynasty exist, but unfortunately, none remain within the country, and those that survive are only fragments. The Chamber’s collection is a relatively complete set, and the collation notes by the renowned modern scholar and bibliophile Miao Quansun enhance its academic value.

Furthermore, the manuscript of Supplements to the History of the Comprehensive Mirror Topically Arranged by Zhang Xingyao from the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties is also invaluable. It provides vital reference materials for scholars studying the thought of Confucian Catholics in China during the Ming-Qing Dynasties and the history of the Catholic mission in China. As the sole surviving copy of this work, it has become an essential research source for scholars from both sides of the Taiwan Strait in recent years.

Regarding block-printed books, the San Chao Yao Dian (Essential Documents of Three Reigns), an Imperial Household Department edition, was compiled by Gu Bingqian and Xu Shaoyan in the 6th year of Emperor Tianqi’s reign (1626) of Ming Dynasty. Unlike the copies collected by the National Library of China and Shanghai Library, this edition, with its large, sparse characters and rich ink colour, is a rare example of Ming Dynasty imperial block-printed book.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Macao fell under the jurisdiction of Xiangshan County. Consequently, the Gazetteer of Xiangshan County contains a wealth of historical information about Macao. The Chinese Ancients Books Chamber at Sir Robert Ho Tung library houses a ten-volume block-printed edition of the Gazetteer, dating from the Qianlong’s reign of the Qing Dynasty. Volume 8, dedicated to Haojing [Macao], presents the history, geography, society, politics and customs of Macao, making it a valuable historical resource.

The second batch of digitized rare books from the first phase originates from the collections of the Macao Central Library, the Senado Library, and the Chinese Ancient Books Chamber at the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, comprising 73 titles in 108 volumes. These include one of the oldest Latin volumes held in the Senado Library: Regni Chinensis Descriptio, that is, the first volume of Matteo Ricci’s De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas (History of Christian Expeditions in China); the Tratado de Amizade e Commercio entre Portugal e China (Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Portugal and China); Robert Morrison’s A Dictionary of the Chinese Language, in Three Parts; and books translated in Cantonese, such as The Pilgrim’s Progress, Peep of Day, The Holy War, and The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. The collection also features items closely related to Macao, such as the Macao Yearbook, a Chinese-to-Portuguese translation of Ou-Mun Kei-Leok (Monograph of Macao), early cadastral records, trilingual (Chinese, Portuguese and English) textbooks used in Macao’s primary and secondary schools, and spiritual works published in Macao. Furthermore, it includes Portuguese-language works on the early history of Portugal’s relations with other countries, and textbooks for teaching the Chinese language to Macanese people.

The second phase of the second batch of digitized rare books include collections from the Senado Library, the Macao Central Library, and the Chinese Ancient Books Chamber at the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, totalling 35 titles in 96 volumes. Among these are Medical Botany (three volumes), published in Britain in the 18th century, and its supplement, A Supplement to Medical Botany (one volume). These two works systematically document over 250 species, detailing their characteristics, appearance and medicinal properties. Accompanied by exquisite illustrations, they are regarded as classic illustrated compendia of medicinal plants. In addition, there is Progressive Lessons for the Study of the Spoken and Written Chinese Language, which compiles 100 articles related to Chinese customs and novel excerpts, presented in both English and French, with the purpose of helping the expatriate community of the time learn Chinese. The collection also includes the Macao Yearbook, which records Macao’s social data from the early 1900s to the 1980s, as well as A Chinese-Portuguese Dictionary and A Portuguese-Chinese Dictionary compiled by Portuguese sinologist Joaquim Afonso Gonçalves, along with the Dongba Scriptures, the scripture of the Dongba religion, and indigenous religion unique to the Naxi people of Southwest China.

A variety of initiatives are being launched to foster reading habits among residents. The Public Library of the Cultural Affairs Bureau will continue to implement the development of Macao as a “City of Reading” in an orderly and sustainable manner, aligning the objectives of the Macao SAR Government.