SINGAPORE – A rare book made from a single sheet of paper containing 10 hand-coloured illustrations of legendary Chinese deities was one of a 5,000-book collection recognised by Unesco on Saturday.
The Historical Asian Children’s Literature (HACL) Collection, which is owned by the National Library Board (NLB), was named an indelible part of Asian culture and heritage by the Unesco Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (Mowcap).
The collection contains books produced from 1890 to 1990 and has been officially added to the Unesco Mowcap Regional Register.
It features mainly fictional works, including folk tales, fairy tales and historical fiction set in Asia.
It also includes a selection of biographical stories of historical figures in Asia, and books on Asia travel, socio-cultural issues and customs.
Some of the books are written in two languages, while others are in English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil or other Asian languages.
The book made from a single sheet of paper dates back to the early 1900s and is titled Pang Tao (Flat Peaches): Eight Fairies Festival.
It is bound in an accordion format and held by two wooden covers. It contains illustrations framed in silk brocade and has both English and Chinese text.
NLB said Pang Tao bears witness to how much the physical form of the book has evolved.
It said: “Early books in China were made of narrow strips of bamboo tied together in a bundle using either silk or leather. Silk later replaced bamboo as a writing material and was rolled around rods like a scroll. With the invention of paper, books were made by folding a long strip of paper accordion-style.”
Another book in the collection is a 1951 graphic novel version of the legend of Hang Tuah made for children.
Hang Tuah is a legendary warrior who is said to have served the Melaka Sultanate in the 15th century.
Of the collection, NLB said: “Many of these titles are one of a kind, or no longer available or in print elsewhere. In the late 20th century, the HACL was the only known research collection of children’s books in English in the region.”
NLB said Unesco’s recognition of the HACL’s importance to the heritage of the Asia-Pacific region affirms the board’s commitment to preserving heritage material for future generations.
NLB added that it is exploring digitalising the HACL texts for patrons, including scholars and researchers.
NLB chief executive officer Ng Cher Pong said: “The collection provides us valuable and important insights into the cultural heritage of Asia and, in particular, South-east Asia, by shedding light on the cultural practices, beliefs, identity and values of generations past.”
Books in the collection are available at levels nine and 11 of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, located in the National Library Building in Victoria Street.
They are part of NLB’s Asian Children’s Literature Collection, which was developed from the 1960s and currently comprises about 19,000 books.
The Mowcap was established in 1998 and is the regional forum for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s Memory of the World Programme, which aims to facilitate the preservation of the world’s documentary heritage, as well as enable public awareness and access to it.
In 2014, the Asian Film Archive, an NLB subsidiary, was similarly recognised for its efforts to preserve significant heritage through its Cathay-Keris Malay Classics Collection of 91 historically and culturally important Malay-language films from the 1950s to 1970s.
