Re-publication of T.H. Tsien's Seminal Work on Its 60th Anniversary

Published on February 6, 2023 

Tsuen-Hsuin "T.H." Tsien 钱存训, former curator of the Far Eastern Library at the University of Chicago (now known as the East Asian Collection), is considered by colleagues to have been the most influential Chinese librarian in America.  Through tireless and heroic efforts, Mr. Tsien developed one of the country's greatest East Asian libraries at the University of Chicago.  He is also credited with training generations of students for East Asian libraries across the nation, with former students having become head of the East Asian libraries at Harvard and Princeton, as well as senior members of the Library of Congress.  Upon his passing at the age of 105 in 2015, an endowment was created at the University of Chicago to honor his legacy by providing support for faculty scholarship at the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS).  In addition, CEAS has supported the digitization of T.H. Tsien's correspondence and scholarship which has resulted in the development of a dedicated website spearheaded by T.H. Tsien's daughter, Mary Dunkel, and nephew, Xiaowen Qian, to provide important resources to train further generations of students and scholars.  

CEAS is proud to announce that Dongfang Publishing Center in Shanghai 东方出版中心 has recently completed the re-publication of T.H. Tsien's seminar work, Written on Bamboo and Silk in simplified Chinese 书于竹帛: 中国古代的文字记录（六十周年纪念版) in time for the 60th anniversary of its original publication.  As described by Professor Edward Shaughnessy, the Lorraine J. and Herrlee G. Creel Distinguished Service Professor in Early Chinese Studies: “Tsien’s published scholarship continues to have a profound influence on the fields of Chinese bibliography, paleography, and science and technology, and he has made numerous contributions to the study and preservation of China’s literary heritage.”

To learn more about T.H. Tsien and his remarkable career, please visit: https://thtsien.com