Precious literary collection of Qing dynasty on show at National Library of China

A visitor takes photos of a restored book in the Tianlu Linlang collection during a preview of the exhibition "Tianlu Linlang", a precious literary collection, at the National Library of China in Beijing, Aug. 3, 2022. (Photo: China News Service/Jiang Qiming)

Tianlu was the name of a royal library during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 220 A.D.), often considered as the earliest national library in China, and Linlang means "various precious jades" in Chinese. By choosing this title, Emperor Qianlong (1711-99) tried to pay homage to history and traditional culture.

A total of 72 kinds of 85 volumes (pieces) of rare books, ancient books, Chinese and foreign modern books, newspapers, archives and other different types of exhibits are on display.

The exhibition opened to the public Thursday.

Books in the Tianlu Linlang collection are displayed during a preview of the exhibition "Tianlu Linlang", a precious literary collection, at the National Library of China, Aug. 3, 2022. (Photo: China News Service/Jiang Qiming)

Visitors view restored books in the Tianlu Linlang collection during a preview of the exhibition "Tianlu Linlang", a precious literary collection, at the National Library of China, Aug. 3, 2022. (Photo: China News Service/Jiang Qiming)

A visitor takes photos of a restored book in the Tianlu Linlang collection during a preview of the exhibition "Tianlu Linlang", a precious literary collection, at the National Library of China in Beijing, Aug. 3, 2022. (Photo: China News Service/Jiang Qiming)

Visitors view restored books in the Tianlu Linlang collection during a preview of the exhibition "Tianlu Linlang", a precious literary collection, at the National Library of China, Aug. 3, 2022. (Photo: China News Service/Jiang Qiming)

Visitors view restored books in the Tianlu Linlang collection during a preview of the exhibition "Tianlu Linlang", a precious literary collection, at the National Library of China, Aug. 3, 2022. (Photo: China News Service/Jiang Qiming)