Cross-strait Symposium on Ancient Chinese Books

Scholars from both sides of the Taiwan Strait jointly looked at ways to preserve China’s literary heritage at a seminar held in Taipei on April 18 to 19. The symposium is the third such cross-strait meeting on ancient Chinese books since the sponsors--Taiwan’s Center for Chinese Studies and mainland China’s Committee of Higher Education for the Arrangement and Study of Ancient Books--first assembled in 1996. The symposium underscored the pressing need to examine rare ancient books in the Greater China region to determine their edition and value. It also looked at the current status and developments in efforts to study, compile, arrange, and utilize ancient Chinese books. The third topic of discussion was the collection and use of foreign-sourced Chinese books in Taiwan and mainland China. A total of 40 reports was delivered.