East Asian Collection

About the collection

The East Asian collection consists of some 700 shelf metres of books and periodicals, and includes a great many rare and precious works. This makes the collection quite unique in the Nordic countries and Europe. The materials span several centuries, with, for example, several Chinese  ts’ung-shu (anthologies) and facsimiles of Japanese Jesuit prints. Even if the Chinese section makes up the bulk of the collection, the Japanese section is quite extensive. In 1926, French sinologist Paul Pelliot noted in the January issue of T'oung pao: “Le Professeur Bernard Karlgren s'est attaché à doter l'Université de Gôteborg (Suède) d'une bonne bibliothèque de travail chinoise et japonaise.” He further mentions that the Japanese part of the collection includes works that cannot be found in Paris, nor in Washington. 

The collection has its own card catalogue, in three parts. The Chinese portion is transcribed according to Wade-Giles, as it was created before the establishment of the Pinyin system. The Japanese portion makes up about one third of the collection, and is described in a catalogue subset. The smallest catalogue section contains references to a number of titles in a collection donated by what was previously the Chinese Faculty at Gothenburg University. This collection includes literature about or relating to East Asia in various languages, mainly Russian. 

Acquisition history

The collection was created on the initiative of Bernhard Karlgren (1889–1978) who in 1918 was made the first professor of East Asian Linguistics and Culture at the Gothenburg College. In 1922, Karlgren acquired the first contribution for the collection on behalf of the Gothenburg city library (currently the Gothenburg University library), and catalogued it himself. Initially, it consisted mainly of Chinese literature, and the purpose of this new acquisition was to support research and study within the field. From the outset, the collection included a small portion of Japanese literature, augmented in 1937, mainly through a donation from the Japanese state. 

Another rather significant collection of orientalia has recently arrived from China, where professor of Gothenburg University, sinologist Bernh. Karlgren has now studied for over a year. At his disposal is a quite generous amount of money for the acquisition of Chinese literature on behalf of the Gothenburg public library. 

From: Nordisk tidskrift för bok- och biblioteksväsen IX, 1922, p. 253.

Through the years, the collection has been expanded, both through donations, purchases and extensive international exchanges. First librarian and Head of Manuscripts John V. Peterson (1903–1984) with great knowledge and a fervent interest in both China and Japan, worked during his time at the library to both expand the collection and catalogue its materials. Today, a number of books previously belonging to Peterson's private library are part of the collection. A smaller portion of the collection was donated as late as 1996, by the then Chinese faculty at Gothenburg University. This donation includes literature in other languages besides Chinese and Japanese, primarily Russian, and concerns East Asia.

Biography

Bernhard Karlgren (1889–1978)

Karlgren studied in China, France and England before he defended his thesis in Uppsala in 1915, the Études sur la phonologie chinoise (Studies in Chinese phonology). Karlgren was one of the most renowned sinologists of the 20th century, and in 1918 he was made the first professor of East Asian linguistics an culture at the Gothenburg College. In 1931–1936, Karlgren also served as the college principal. He was later made a professor of East Asian archaeology, and head of the East Asian collections in Stockholm. Karlgren produced a considerable amount of scientific works, and wrote novels under his pseudonym, Clas Gullman. In 1970 he was celebrated for his efforts on behalf of the library, in an exhibition where a selection from the collection was displayed.

John Vilhelm Peterson (1903–1984)

Peterson earned his bachelor's degree in 1928, and in the same year, he was hired as an assistant librarian at the Gothenburg public library. Peterson's main subject was Chinese, but once he got his licentiate's degree in 1935, he took an interest in Japan, where he would also study. In 1937, he published the book Peculiar Japan, and in 1968 was awarded the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure of the third class. Peterson was eventually made first librarian and Head of Manuscripts section at the Gothenburg public library. 

Read more

Bernhard Karlgren on Wikipedia.

Förteckning över kinesisk litteratur i Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek. (1973). Göteborg: Universitetsbiblioteket.

Karlgren, B. (1931). Chinese books in Swedish collections. Göteborgs högskolas årsskrift, 37:6, s. 26. 

Malmqvist, G. (1995). Bernhard Karlgren: Ett forskarporträtt.

Peterson, John (1937). Det säregna Japan. Stockholm: Natur och kultur.

Peterson, John (1941). Förteckning över Göteborgs stadsbiblioteks japanska boksamling.

Peterson, John (1960). Japan i stadsbiblioteket. Göteborgs handels- och sjöfartstidning, Årg. 129. Onsdag 13 april. 

Peterson, John (1941). Kina i Göteborgs stadsbibliotek.

Suggested research topics

• An overview of the collection's contents. What is represented here, and how does it mirror the time and context of the material? 
• Asian bookbinding techniques.
• Linguistic research within multiple Asian languages.

Please contact us if you have any suggested research topics you would like to share!