Chicago Librarian Honored for
World War II Heroism in China
Retired University of Chicago librarian and professor Tsuen-Hsuin Tsien, 89, was honored December 17 by university officials and other admirers for an act of heroism that rescued about 30,000 books from destruction during Japan’s occupation of China in World War II.
The literature, fine prints, and Confucian classics that Tsien risked his life to preserve dated to the 10th century. In 1941, as a young librarian at what is now the National Library of China in Beijing, he worked with a friendly customs agent in Shanghai, packaged the rare books, and marked the shipments as if they were new books. They were sent to the Library of Congress, where they were microfilmed and stored.
According to the December 18 Chicago Sun-Times, the U.S. gave the books to Taiwan in 1966, but China would like them back. Among the officials attending the ceremony was Sun Beixin, deputy director of the National Library of China, where Tsien hopes the books will eventually be returned.
During his 32 years at U. of C., Tsien is credited with helping to build its East Asian literature collection into one of the nation’s finest.
Posted December 27, 1999.
|
