On the morning of June 7, 2024 (neighborhood time), Zhejiang University held a rite to give “A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings” to the University of Oxford in the Bahari Seminar Room in Oxford. Attendees protected Mamtimyn Sunuodula, Head of the Bodleian Libraries’ East Asia Section at the University of Oxford; Tian Yuan Tan, Shaw Professor of Chinese at the University of Oxford; Chu Chaofu, President of Zhejiang University Press; Huang Chen, Deputy Director of the CADAL Project Management Center; Jin Jiali, Deputy Secretary-General of CADAL; Academician Yang Yuliang, Director of the Ancient Book Preservation Institute at Fudan University; Yang Guanghui, Deputy Director of Fudan University Library; Sui Jun, Director of the Ancient Books Department at Fudan University Library; Zhou Xinping, Director of the East Asian Library on the University of California, Berkeley; and Sim Chuin Peng, Deputy Director of the National University of Singapore Library and Head of the Collection Management and Preservation Cluster, alongside other school and students.
In his speech, President Chu Chaofu remarked that artwork and lifestyle have always served as vital bridges for verbal exchange between extraordinary civilizations, providing wealthy proof and a broader attitude for understanding the evolution of human civilization. He expressed his desire to engage in discussions with the attending guests on the way to in addition utilize the “A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings” to foster a deeper, broader, and more comprehensive knowledge of Chinese artwork and way of life via nearer exchanges and cooperation.
Director Mamtimyn Sunuodula expressed heartfelt gratitude to Zhejiang University for the book donation and apologized on behalf of the University of Oxford’s Chinese art pupils and representatives from publishing establishments who were not able to wait due to different commitments. He expressed splendid anticipation for future visits from the Zhejiang University crew to similar discussions on collaboration and trade. He additionally noted that the picture of Qiu Ying’s Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival displayed in the “Collection” became printed with exceptional readability, making it a precious reference for analyzing the portray and calligraphy market in Suzhou in the course of the Ming Dynasty and Suzhou cultural scenes. He believed that adding the “Collection” to Oxford’s library might enhance the university’s artwork book resources, and they might sell the assignment within Oxford’s Chinese community.
As the academic consultant for the University of Oxford on the occasion, Professor Tian Yuan Tan thanked Zhejiang University for donating this valuable set of books to Oxford. He emphasized the “Collection’s” importance for studies in fields that include history, transnational studies, and translation research and expressed self-belief that Oxford’s college and college students might make full use of the resources for gaining knowledge of and research.
Following the speeches, President Chu Chaofu formally supplied the books to Director Mamtimyn Sunuodula on behalf of Zhejiang University.
Compiled and posted using Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, the “A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings” consists of 12,405 pieces (or units) of historical Chinese artwork on various substances along with paper, silk (which include brocade and damask), and hemp, sourced from 263 cultural and museum institutions international. Of those, 9, hundred fifty-five pieces (or units) are from home collections, while 3,250 are from worldwide collections, overlaying most of the surviving “countrywide treasure” stage masterpieces. The e-book consists of A Comprehensive Collection of from Pre-Qin Period to Tang Dynasty Paintings, A Comprehensive Collection of Song Dynasty Paintings, A Comprehensive Collection of Yuan Dynasty Paintings, A Comprehensive Collection of Ming Dynasty Paintings, and A Comprehensive Collection of Qing Dynasty Paintings, totaling 62 volumes in 232 books. This is the maximum complete collection of amazing works in similar courses, and it’s by far the largest in scale in terms of Chinese painting photo archives posted to date.
On the afternoon of June 5, the fortieth-anniversary party of Zhejiang University Press and the remote places advertising the occasion for “A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings” was held at St. Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge. Attendees included Henning Sirringhaus, Fellow of the Royal Society and Professor at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge; Frances Wood, famed Sinologist, historian, former Head of the Chinese Section on the British Library, and recipient of the Special Book Award of China; Zhang Hongxing, Senior Curator and Senior Researcher of Chinese Collections on the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A); Mei Jianjun, Director of the Needham Research Institute, University of Cambridge; Yu Rong, artist and Director of the Jiangnan Culture International Communication Research Center at Soochow University; Chu Chaofu, President and Editor-in-Chief of Zhejiang University Press; and Zhao Feng, Dean of the School of Art and Archaeology at Zhejiang University.
After watching the promotional video of the “Collection” in Chinese and English, President Chu Chaofu delivered the improvement of Zhejiang University and highlighted the achievements of Zhejiang University Press during the last 40 years in areas including worldwide collaboration, excessive-quit artwork courses, cultural and creative books, humanities and social sciences publications, forte ebook brands, pass-cultural alternate courses, technology and technology publishing, textbook manufacturing, educational journals, and worldwide publishing carrier structures. He expressed that Zhejiang University Press is eager to apply the “Collection” as a bridge to collaborate with all friends who care about and admire the Chinese lifestyle, to explore and share the beautiful information and reports of human civilization.
Following this, the attendees exchanged ideas about the book standards, educational value, overseas promotion of the “Collection,” as well as problems associated with the import and export of Chinese books. Professor Henning Sirringhaus praised the splendid printing of the “Collection,” noting that the high-definition, life-size images convey the historical artwork to lifestyles. Mr. Zhang Hongxing emphasized that this series holds amazing importance for each cultural background quarter and pupils of historical Chinese. He talked about how as compared to comparable portray catalogs which include The Comprehensive Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Paintings compiled by way of Suzuki Kei’s group in Japan and people posted with the aid of the Taipei Palace Museum, the “Collection” is extraordinary for balancing comprehensiveness and photograph first-class, making it a groundbreaking and epoch-making compilation of Chinese artwork. Additionally, due to its good-sized content material, the “Collection” also serves as a foundational useful resource for non-creative and interdisciplinary research.
Director Mei Jianjun added that a few works within the “Collection” can replicate the relationship between ancient Chinese painting and the history of Chinese technological know-how and technology, opening up numerous ability research subjects. Ms. Frances Wood reminisced approximately her early reviews studying Chinese art, noting the problems students confronted when gaining knowledge of portray snapshots within the beyond. She expressed that the “Collection,” which includes superior digital technology and offers a large number of excessive-definition pics, substantially helps academic research and serves as a useful gaining knowledge of the tool. Lastly, the attendees presented pointers regarding the export and advertising of Chinese books, with Ms. Yu Rong sharing her mind on the overseas merchandising of Chinese art books and their role in children’s training.
Zhejiang University Press pursues to grow to be an international-elegance college press and contributes to the construction of global-class disciplines and universities via global publishing efforts. In recent years, Zhejiang University Press has been a national leader in international cooperation, retaining partnerships with over 200 publishing organizations in more than 30 nations and areas. Its signature e-book collection, “Qizhen Books,” has visible works including Rumors within the Han Dynasty and Early Modern Chinese Economy: The Yangtze Delta within the 1820s introduced and posted in English with the aid of Cambridge University Press. The 40th-anniversary birthday celebration of Zhejiang University Press and the foreign places merchandising event for “A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings” have similarly advanced the clicking’s worldwide efforts and the worldwide dissemination of the “Collection” assignment.
