Libraly Journal

Libraly Journal ›› 2025, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (416): 115-121.

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Textual Research on the Flyleaf of Ancient Books

Wang Baosen1,2 Yao Boyue2 (1 School of History and Culture Tianjin Normal University2 The Academy of Rare Book Preservation Tianjin Normal University)   

  • Online:2026-01-15 Published:2026-01-08
  • About author:

    Wang Baosen1,2 Yao Boyue2 (1 School of History and Culture Tianjin Normal University2 The Academy of Rare Book Preservation Tianjin Normal University)

Abstract: Clarifying the explicit meaning of the  Flyleaf in the ancient books is helpful for the accuracyand standardization in cataloging the titles of ancient books.  Flyleaf is an English word. It was originallytranslated as  飞页 in Chinese and soon evolved into a homophonic  扉页 . Through investing the recentdescription of the western-style binding and the periodicals it is found that the term  flyleaf can refer tothe first image page after the cover of a book or periodical the inscription page the blank page in thebook the title page etc. and even a virtual reference. In the field of ancient books most of theinterpretations for Flyleaf in modern and contemporary theoretical works continue to use the meaning ofthe blank page which originating from the  飞页 . While the flyleaf mostly refers to the title page alsoknown as the inner cover Nei Feng and inside cover Li Feng in the actual description of ancient books.

Key words: Ancient books, Flyleaf, Title page, Inner cover