The National Central Library on Friday signed an agreement with the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” increasing its network of Taiwan Research Centers for Chinese Studies in Italy to three.
It in 2018 inked agreements with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Sapienza University of Rome.
Italian Sinology is internationally renowned, with the three universities regarded as the country’s leading institutions for Chinese studies, National Central Library Acting Director-General Weng Chih-tsung (翁誌聰) said.
Photo courtesy of the National Central Library
The universities in Venice and Rome became the library’s Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies partners in 2018, and the addition of the Naples university on Friday is a result of eight years of efforts, Weng said.
The signing ceremony took place at Palazzo Corigliano’s Cabinet of Mirrors and the agreement was signed by Weng and the university’s rector, Roberto Tottoli.
The Naples university has become the library’s 58th partner worldwide, Weng said.
The library provided the university with 248 books on Chinese and Taiwan studies, and would add more every year, he said, adding that it would also provide digital collections and electronic databases.
The library presented two facsimile editions of the Diamond Sutra (金剛經), the earliest surviving two-color printed Buddhist scripture, and the Annotated Poems of Su Dongpo (東坡先生詩集註), a Song Dynasty edition designated a national treasure, to the university.
The gifts symbolize Taiwan’s and Italy’s shared commitment to preserving knowledge and promoting cultural exchange, the library said.
We hope the new Italian partnership would raise the visibility of Taiwan’s academic resources in Europe, Weng said.
Separately, the Ministry of Education yesterday said it has signed an agreement with Kyoto University as part of the Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative.
Kyoto University executive vice-president for research promotion Susumu Kitagawa, last year’s Nobel laureate in chemistry, represented the university at the signing, which Deputy Minister of Education Liu Kuo-wei (劉國偉) witnessed, the ministry said.
Beginning next year, Kyoto University would provide four spots for Taiwanese young people to conduct short-term research and training alongside researchers and graduate students, it said.
The program is intended to develop independent research and international collaboration skills, while deepening long-term Taiwan-Japan cooperation in higher education and cutting-edge research, it added.
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