Chinese Collections

OSUL’s Collection Description and Access Department’s Non-Roman Cataloging section recently completed a project cataloging all the individual book titles in the Van Gulik’s rare Chinese book collection on microfiche pt.1 and pt.2.1. To see all 249 individual titles, search keywords or series using “Van Gulik collection”

Dr.  Robert van Gulik (高罗佩, Gao luo-pei) was born in The Netherlands in 1910. He was a diplomat, writer, and scholar.

According to microfiche catalog guide, Robert van Gulik managed to build a private Chinese collection during his long stay in Asia with the support of his diplomatic status.  His full collection archived at the Sinological Institute of the University of Leiden consists of 2500 book titles in nearly 10000 volumes, and covers fine arts, classical music, literature, and folk novels. Of these titles, 117 folk novels (pt. 1) and 132 books on literature, painting, calligraphy and history (pt. 2.1) can be viewed in the Mircoform Reading Room at Thompson Library.

OSUL record for the microfiche catalogue guide:

• Van Gulik collection : rare Chinese books on microfiche : catalogue (Inter Documentation, 1982)

Robert van Gulik  earned his reputation among Chinese scholars due to his different approach to popularizing Chinese culture. Below are some OSUL resources on van Gulik’s works and his perspectives on Chinese culture:

• 高罗佩 : 沟通中西文化的使者by 张萍 (中华书局, 2010)
• 大汉学家高罗佩传 by C. D. Bakeman, H. De Fulisi zhu, translated by 施辉业 ( 海南出版社, 2011)

Studies and books by van Gulik include:

• The lore of the Chinese lute; an essay in ch’in ideology by R. H. van Gulik (Sophia university, 1940)
• Sexual life in ancient China, a preliminary survey of Chinese sex and society from ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D. by R.H. Van Gulik (Brill, 2003)
• Erotic colour prints of the Ming period : with an essay on Chinese sex life from the Han to the Chʼing Dynasty, B.C. 206-A.D. 1644 by R. H. van Gulik(Brill, 2004)

One of van Gulik’s  works is a series of detective novels named “Judge Dee Mysteries”, of which he borrowed the main character: Judge Dee, from a 18th-century Chinese detective novel “Dee Goong An”(狄公案).

OSUL has much of this mystery fiction written by Robert Van Gulik. Here are a few titles:

• The Chinese bell murders by Robert van Gulik (University of Chicago Press, 1977)
• The Chinese lake murders by Robert van Gulik (University of Chicago Press, 1979)
• The Chinese nail murders by Robert van Gulik (University of Chicago Press, 1977)