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<\/a>Image by \u5e05 \u90ed<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n First of all, let’s begin with the most important vocabulary word of the lesson. Here’s the Chinese word for “library:”<\/p>\n If you look at each character in the name, it makes perfect sense: \u56fe means map\/chart, \u4e66 means book, and \u9986 means shop\/establishment. As usual, the Chinese language pretty accurately and efficiently explains something!<\/p>\n You’ll need more than just one word for a trip to a library, though. Here’s some more Chinese library vocabulary for you to study:<\/p>\n That’s a pretty solid list of vocabulary for going to libraries in China. Here are a few sample sentences where you can see some of those words in action:<\/p>\n \u4f60\u6709\u4ec0\u4e48\u6837\u7684\u6742\u5fd7\uff1f \u6211\u60f3\u501f\u300a\u897f\u6e38\u8bb0\u300b\u3002 \u4f60\u6709\u8fd9\u672c\u4e66\u5417\uff1f \u6253\u6270\u4e00\u4e0b\uff0c\u54a8\u8be2\u53f0\u5728\u54ea\u91cc\uff1f \u6211\u9700\u8981\u5c06\u8fd9\u672c\u4e66\u9000\u8fd8\u56fe\u4e66\u9986\u3002 \u8fd9\u672c\u4e66\u8fc7\u671f\u4e86\u3002 \u6ede\u7eb3\u91d15\u5143\u3002 Image by frankzhoucn<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n As with most things in China, the history of libraries goes way back. I’m talking way<\/em> back to the Shang Dynasty<\/strong> (\u5546\u4ee3 sh\u0101ng d\u00e0i), which lasted from 1600-1046 BC. These ancient libraries were built to store and organize official records written on oracle bones<\/strong> (\u7532\u9aa8 ji\u01ce g\u01d4).<\/p>\n In the subsequent Zhou Dynasty<\/strong> (\u5468\u671d zh\u014du ch\u00e1o) (1046-256 BC), there were a few different types of collections that would be considered libraries today. These were: private, official, college, and monastery collections. These different book storage facilities had systems of collecting and classifying documents, which were mostly written by hand on bamboo.<\/p>\n A major development for the written word in not just China but the entire globe came when a commoner named Bi Sheng<\/strong> (\u6bd5\u6607 b\u00ec sh\u0113ng) invented the world’s first movable type. This is considered one of the Four Great Inventions<\/strong> (\u56db\u5927\u53d1\u660e s\u00ec d\u00e0 f\u0101 m\u00edng) of China, along with the compass, gunpowder, and paper making.<\/p>\n Despite this breakthrough invention, most libraries in China were still private collections of scholars and elites. The first modern library in the country was the Shanghai Xu Jia Hui Library<\/strong> (\u4e0a\u6d77\u56fe\u4e66\u9986\u5f90\u5bb6\u6c47 sh\u00e0ng h\u01cei t\u00fa sh\u016b gu\u01cen x\u00fa ji\u0101 hu\u00ec). It was founded in 1847 by Jesuit missionaries and it remains a part of the Shanghai library system to this day.<\/p>\n The growth of libraries across the country was slow, however. During the Qing Dynasty<\/strong> (\u6e05\u4ee3 q\u012bng d\u00e0i), many regulations and policies were established for managing libraries. This resulted in the rapid expansion of the library system across the country. Unfortunately, many were destroyed in the wars that ravaged the country in the 1930s-40s.<\/p>\n After the founding of the modern day People’s Republic of China, the National Library of China<\/strong> (\u4e2d\u56fd\u56fd\u5bb6\u56fe\u4e66\u9986 zh\u014dng gu\u00f3 gu\u00f3 ji\u0101 t\u00fa sh\u016b gu\u01cen) was established. It had previously been known as the Imperial Library of Peking<\/strong> (\u4eac\u5e08\u56fe\u4e66\u9986 j\u012bng sh\u012b t\u00fa sh\u016b gu\u01cen). With a collection of over 37 million items, it’s the largest library in Asia and one of the largest in the world. You can enjoy a virtual tour of the library in this video:<\/p>\nChinese Library Vocabulary<\/h2>\n
\u56fe\u4e66\u9986
\nt\u00fa sh\u016b gu\u01cen<\/h3>\n\n
author (\u4f5c\u8005 zu\u00f2 zh\u011b)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
biography (\u4f20\u8bb0 zhu\u00e0n j\u00ec)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
borrow (\u501f\u7528 ji\u00e8 y\u00f2ng)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
catalog (\u76ee\u5f55 m\u00f9 l\u00f9)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
dictionary (\u5b57\u5178 z\u00ec di\u01cen)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
encyclopedia (\u767e\u79d1\u5168\u4e66 b\u01cei k\u0113 qu\u00e1n sh\u016b)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
fiction (\u5c0f\u8bf4 xi\u01ceo shu\u014d)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
index (\u6307\u6570 zh\u01d0 sh\u00f9)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
keyword (\u5173\u952e\u8bcd gu\u0101n ji\u00e0n c\u00ed)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
late fee (\u6ede\u7eb3\u91d1 zh\u00ec n\u00e0 j\u012bn)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
librarian (\u9986\u5458 gu\u01cen yu\u00e1n)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
library card (\u501f\u4e66\u5361 ji\u00e8 sh\u016b k\u01ce)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
magazine (\u6742\u5fd7 z\u00e1 zh\u00ec)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
newspaper (\u62a5\u7eb8 b\u00e0o zh\u01d0)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
non-fiction (\u975e\u5c0f\u8bf4 f\u0113i xi\u01ceo shu\u014d)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
overdue (\u8fc7\u671f\u7684 gu\u00f2 q\u00ed de)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
periodical (\u671f\u520a q\u00ed k\u0101n)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
publisher (\u51fa\u7248\u8005 ch\u016b b\u01cen zh\u011b)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
reference desk (\u54a8\u8be2\u53f0 z\u012b x\u00fan t\u00e1i)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
return (\u9000\u8fd8 tu\u00ec hu\u00e1n)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nN\u01d0 y\u01d2u sh\u00e9n me y\u00e0ng de z\u00e1 zh\u00ec?
\nWhat kind of magazines do you have?<\/p>\n
\nW\u01d2 xi\u01ceng ji\u00e8 \u201cx\u012b y\u00f3u j\u00ec\u201d. N\u01d0 y\u01d2u zh\u00e8 b\u011bn sh\u016b ma?
\nI’d like to borrow “Journey to the West.” Do you have this book?<\/p>\n
\nd\u01ce r\u01ceo y\u012b xi\u00e0, z\u012b x\u00fan t\u00e1i z\u00e0i n\u01ce l\u01d0?
\nExcuse me, where is the reference desk?<\/p>\n
\nW\u01d2 x\u016b y\u00e0o ji\u0101ng zh\u00e8 b\u011bn sh\u016b tu\u00ec hu\u00e1n t\u00fa sh\u016b gu\u01cen.
\nI need to return this book to the library.<\/p>\n
\nZh\u00e8 b\u011bn sh\u016b gu\u00f2q\u00edle. Zh\u00ecn\u00e0j\u012bn 5 yu\u00e1n.
\nThis book is overdue. The late fee is 5 yuan.<\/p>\n<\/a>Libraries in China<\/h2>\n