Harvard and National Library of China to Digitize Rare Books

One of the most extensive collections of rare Chinese books outside of China will be digitized and made freely available to scholars worldwide as part of a six-year cooperative project between Harvard College Library (HCL) and the National Library of China (NLC)…

…The first phase, beginning in January 2010, will digitize books from the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, which date from about 960 AD to 1644. The second phase, starting in January 2013, will digitize books from the Qing Dynasty, which date from 1644 until 1795.  The collection includes materials which cover an extensive range of subjects, including history, philosophy, drama, belles letters and classics.

For more information, visit Harvard College Library’s article describing the project.