China's Consul General Presents 500 Chinese Texts to UB Libraries

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Ambassador Liu Biwei, consul general of the People's Republic of China, led a delegation from his New York City office that today presented a gift of 500 Chinese texts to the University at Buffalo Libraries.

The presentation, held in the Poetry/Rare Books Room in Capen Hall, North Campus, was followed by a luncheon hosted by UB President John Simpson and Katherine Gower that was attended by a number of UB faculty members, staff and senior administrators.

The books, a gift from China's Ministry of Education, currently headed by UB alumnus Zhou Ji, Ph.D. '85, M.S. '82, include a number of CD-ROM dictionaries, encyclopedias and pronunciation guides; Chinese language textbooks and teachers' manuals, and texts about Tibet and other regions of China.

There also are books on rhyme schemes, business and economics, and the spiritual prospect of a multilingual environment, as well as one titled "How to Make Chinese Dumplings" and another titled "How to Make Auspicious Chinese Knots."

The collection includes memoirs and biographies, books about China's musical instruments, silk industry, museums, gardens and tourism industry; dictionaries pertinent to specific academic and business fields; English translations of Chinese literature, and prose and poetry by a number of contemporary Chinese writers.

The Poetry/Rare Books Room exhibited 30 to 40 of the books during the visit.

The delegation included Liu's wife, Consul Fang Chun; Ai Fanglin, education counselor; Qiao Fenghe, consul; Liu Qiang, education consul; Hu Yi, vice consul and interpreter; Wang Wenhua, vice consul, and staff member Wang Chengxiang.

While in Buffalo, the delegates met with Stephen C. Dunnett, UB vice provost for international education, and Thomas Burkman, director of the UB Asian Studies Program. They were escorted on tours of the university and of Buffalo, and were honored at a dinner on Tuesday hosted by Dunnett. The delegation also visited Niagara Falls yesterday and attended a private dinner with Chinese scholars.