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Chinese Medicine has a long history of over 5,000 years. The theory and methodology of Chinese Medicine is recorded in ancient texts, the earliest one being HuangDi Neijing《黃帝內經》published in the Han Dynasty.  Understanding the significance of these texts in the development of Chinese Medicine, Prof. Kong Yun-cheung, the founding Director of the School of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has generously donated the invaluable ‘Professor Chong Siu Cheung Chinese Medicine Collection’ to the CUHK Library for perpetual preservation and access. 

The University Library has worked closely with the School of Chinese Medicine to create a new digital collection, ‘Chinese Medicine Texts Collection’, by selecting and digitising about 1,200 volumes of the most significant and rarest texts of the Collection. This will enhance the research value of these precious texts and provide easy access for scholars, practitioners and the public pursuing Chinese Medicine. 

The new digital collection is currently in soft launch to provide access to more than 280 volumes at the CUHK Digital Repository (http://repository.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en/collection/chimed). More volumes will be added. The Library also plans to collect and digitise other Chinese Medicine rare books to grow the collection. 

The whole Collection consists of 2,485 volumes of ancient Chinese Medicine texts, including 61 titles (182 volumes) of rare books published around the Ming and Qing Dynasty and 330 titles (1,049 volumes) in the Qing Dynasty and Minguo. Some of the rarest titles include Michuan Yanke Longmu Yishu Zonglun《秘傳眼科龍木醫書總論》, one of the earliest ophthalmology specialty works published in late Ming Dynasty [1575], Dantai Yuan《丹臺玉案》, a collection of renowned doctors’ secret formulas in the Ming era [1657], and Jingyue Quanshu《景岳全書》, one of the best known medical books in late Chinese history written by Ming’s clinical giant Zhang Jingyue in 1765. 

The School of Chinese Medicine and the Library plan to jointly organise an exhibition on Chinese Medicine in Spring 2017 and will officially launch this ‘Chinese Medicine Texts Collection’ at the same time.