Dr Tomasz Makowski, director of the National Library in Warsaw, Tseng Shu-hsien, director-general of the National Library of Taiwan, and Bob L.J. Chen, head of the Taipei Representative Office in Poland, opened the exhibition “Signs of Civilisation – ancient books from the collection of the National Library of Taiwan” on Friday, 9 December.

The showcases, located in the new reading rooms of the National Library, show how the invention of paper, and later printing, enabled the rapid development of civilisation through the spread of the written word on a scale previously unknown.

Devoted to paper and printing, the exhibition is divided into five sections: The History of Writing, The Evolution of Printing Techniques, Exceptional Copies from the Special Collections of the National Library of Taiwan and the National Library, The Meeting of East and West and Formosa and Signs of Civilisation.

The exhibition ‘Signs of Civilisation – ancient books from the collection of the National Library of Taiwan’ is on display until 29 December 2022.

At the opening of the exhibition, the Director General of the National Library of Taiwan Dr Tseng Shu-hsien, addressing the guests, pointed out that Poland, situated in the middle of Europe, is a natural meeting place for Eastern and Western culture.

Director of the National Library Dr Tomasz Makowski emphasised that books as an important carrier of the history of human civilisation, promoting knowledge and culture, are traces of civilisation.

‘The National Library of Taiwan opened an exhibition at the National Library of Poland on writing, printing, the long tradition of transmitting content, texts, all that is most precious in our, European and Asian heritage’, said Tomasz Makowski.

Head of the Representative Office of Taiwan in Poland Bob L.J. Chen thanked for the preparation of the exhibition and added that although Taiwan and Poland are far apart, books unite them. Next year, Poland will be the guest of honour at the Taipei Book Fair. “I am glad that readers in Taiwan will be able to get acquainted with Polish literature”, he added.

Adrian Andrzejewski