A Study of the History of Modern Science Library Pei-ching II

Abstract

As Japanese government forced the 21 demands on Chinese government, there arouse an Anti-Japan movement in China. Japan gave up to claim the Boxer indemnities and in 1923 it started “the Cultural Work for China”, but the Chinese people rejected the Japanese project, because they thought it a kind of cultural invasion. A joint committee of both countries was organized to take the Chinese opinions into consideration, and planned to establish a library of ancient Chinese books in Pei-ching, but because of Chi-nan Incident in 1928, the project broke down.
In October 1935, Japan made a new plan of establishing a Japanese library in Pei-ching for reconstruction of the Japanese cultural works in China. This library was called the Modern Science Library Pei-ching. Saburo Yamamuro was appointed to the director. The preparation works went on and the library was opened on December 5th, 1936.
After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937, this library promoted the active services, such as instruction of Japanese language, editting and publishing the text books in Japanese language, and various exhibitions. But Chinese people opposed these library activities. On September 27th, 1938, someone set fire to the library building. As the war went on, the library service was reduced to the minimum, and in 1945, the year of the defeat of Japan, the library was closed.