Libraly Journal

Libraly Journal ›› 2023, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (392): 85-94.

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Progress and Limitations: A Study of Japanese Libraries byScholars in the Early Republic of China Period

Wan Yaping, Zhou Xiaoxia(Institute for Asia - Pacific Cooperation and Development, Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences)   

  • Online:2023-12-15 Published:2023-12-29
  • About author:Wan Yaping, Zhou Xiaoxia(Institute for Asia - Pacific Cooperation and Development, Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences)

Abstract:

In the early years of the Republic of China, influenced by the late Qing Dynasty’s StudyJapan trend, the flourishing of social education, and the inducement of Japanese policies, there wasa renewed trend of visiting Japan for research purposes. The further development of modern Chineselibrary cause and library science research had a certain impact on the Japanese library cause and academiccognition of the explorers at the beginning of the Republic of China period. Their investigations primarilycentered around the management system and the social educational role of Japanese libraries. Whileacknowledging the achievements of Japanese libraries in terms of infrastructure, operational management,professional ethos, and social education activities, they also pointed out the issues present in theJapanese library science system. The visits by early Republican scholars to Japanese libraries objectivelypromoted the dissemination of advanced Japanese library concepts in China, facilitated the localizationand development of Chinese library science, and also expanded the scope of cooperation and exchangebetween Chinese and Japanese libraries.

Key words: Research visits to Japan, Social education, History of library science, The Republic of China, Japan