Continued attention to Taiwan’s academic development, Hao Chang from Academia Sinica donated lifetime book collection to the National Central Library in Taiwan.
On February 8th 2022, Hao Chang, an academician and historian of the Academia Sinica, donated his life-long book collection to the National Central Library in Taiwan (NCL). For the first time, the NCL held a long-distance donation ceremony via the assistance of the Education Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco (TECO).
The collection of books donated by Academician Chang this time not only includes more than 5,000 volumes of books and periodicals, but also more than ten large boxes of manuscript notes.
“Those books and papers that will soon be making their voyage across the Pacific filled all the homes that Dad and our mom ever lived in over their 55 years of marriage.” Charlotte Chang, daughter of Hao Chang said in the ceremony “They would collect in giant piles on the living room coffee tables and on the couch, on bookshelves throughout the house, in his home offices that he never really used, his offices at Ohio State University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. These piles and piles of stuff could never be disturbed by anyone besides Dad. No matter how much they were driving our mom crazy. They were a chaos that had a genuine order to them, for Dad. They were not separated into work piles and personal life piles, no, but shuffled all together in a jumble.”
The book donation was accepted by the Director General Scott Lai, TECO in San Francisco. Tseng Shu-hsien, Director General of NCL, Academician Fan-sen Wang and Chang’s family and friends participated online. Director Lai also presented a certificate of appreciation to Academician Hao Chang on behalf of NCL. Academician Chang was accompanied by his daughter Charlotte Chang, his son-in-law James Lastoskie and his 5-year-old grandson. In her speech, Charlotte Chang said “Dad always says that he is very lucky. In so many instances in his life, he has marveled at the incredible people he has been surrounded by, how privileges afforded him opportunities that many others would never have, how fate seemed to give him a little lift at opportune times. Indeed he is lucky, and we are lucky, and today is more evidence of that. This rare honor represents Dad’s own considerable hard work and accomplishments.”
