Peking University, March 18, 2025: The current Peking University Library comprises the Main Library, the Medical Library and faculty branches, covering more than 100,000 square meters and housing more than 10 million printed volumes, boasting the largest book collection in any Asian university. In addition, the slew of e-resources at home and abroad, including various databases, digital periodicals, e-books and multimedia resources, has made it a modernized, comprehensive, and open research-focused library abounding with resources.

In retrospect, Peking University Library commenced its journey at the residence of Princess Hejia, moving to the Red Building, then to Changsha, the Southwest, and eventually Yanyuan Garden.

The Imperial University of Peking era

Imperial University of Peking, the first national comprehensive university, was inaugurated in 1898, followed by the establishment of the Book Collection Building, located at the residence of Princess Hejia. Harboring a bibliotheca of Chinese and Western books, the Book Collection Building furnished scholars with a broad swath of reading materials, and facilitated the diffusion of global philosophies. 

In 1912, to the accompaniment of the renaming of Imperial University of Peking as Peking University, the Book Collection Building was rechristened “Peking University Library”. 

The Book Collection Building at Imperial University of Peking in 1899

The Red Building era

The Red Building, established in 1918, allowed the relocation of the Peking University Library to the first floor, with two branches constructed.

In the same year, Li Dazhao became the Chief Director of the library, during whose tenure the library expanded its collection by approximately 10,000 books annually, gradually amassing a panoply that set it aside from its Chinese counterparts, carrying profound implications.

In 1930 when Jiang Menglin assumed the role of President of Peking University, he stipulated that one-fifth of the university’s expenditure would be allocated to book and equipment acquisitions, ushering in a glittering prime of the library’s development.

The Peking University Library completed in 1935

The National Changsha Provisional University era

After the Lugou Bridge incident that took place in 1937, Peking University relocated to Changsha, a city in southern China. Together with Tsinghua University and Nankai University, it united to form the National Changsha Provisional University. Nonetheless, the books and equipment were unaccounted for. The three universities, the National Library of Peiping, and the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, set up a library for the provisional university. 

National Changsha Provisional University

The National Southwestern Associated University era

In 1938, the National Changsha Provisional University evolved into the National Southwestern Associated University based in Kunming, Yunnan, with Yuan Tongli appointed as the Library Director.

The Library of National Southwestern Associated University

The era of Peking University’s relocation to its original site

The three universities, including Peking University, were relocated back to their respective original sites in 1946. Yuan Tongli temporarily took over the position as the Chief Director of Peking University Library. Its book collection increased rapidly from 1946 to 1949, rising to the second largest library in China, right behind the National Library of Peiping.

The Yanyuan Garden era

In 1952, Peking University was relocated to Yenching University, and so was its library. Due to limited space, its books had to be scattered across 15 places, causing great inconvenience for management and borrowing, hence the advice about building a new library, which was approved by Zhou Enlai, then-Premier of China. 

At the beginning of 1975, the new library (today’s west building of the library) was unveiled in Yanyuan Garden. At the time, it was the largest and most advanced university library in China, its name inscribed by then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. 

1998 marked the 100th anniversary of Peking University, a year when the east building of Peking University Library donated by Sir Ka-shing Li, Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, was completed, adjacent to the West Building, their total construction area surpassing all the other libraries in Asian universities.

The Library of Yenching University

The Peking University Library in the 1990s

Peking University Library is counted among the three PKU landmarks, alongside Boya Pagoda and Weiming Lake. It has enthralled numerous aficionados of knowledge, and witnessed the academic accomplishments of the professors, passing down the inheritance of Peking University. It has set forth a course throughout which intellectuals and students delve into the wisdom from the past, and embark on a venture to the future.

The Peking University Library inaugurated in 1998

Written by: He Yike
Edited by: Zhang Jiang
Source: PKU Wechat