Hu Shih and Unmatched' Wason Collection marks a century of nurturing Asian studies"

Willard D. Straight in Korea Collection at Cornell University

Willard Straight worked in Korea as a Reuters correspondent during the Russo-Japanese War and as a U. S. diplomat. He sketched Japanese and Russian soldiers and Korean people. Over 200 of his drawings, photographs and postcards comprise a remarkable collection that offers a rare example of western perspectives on Korea during the early 20th century.

https://library.artstor.org/…

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_Dickerman_Straight


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'Unmatched' Wason Collection marks a century of nurturing Asian ...

news.cornell.edu/.../unmatched-wason-collection-marks-century-nurturing-asian-studi...

Apr 23, 2018 - In 1912, Hu Shih, Class of 1914, and a group of friends donated 350 ... Digitized collections include Willard D. Straight's Korean and Chinese ...

Divison of Rare and Manuscript Collections

Illustration of Japanese poets composing, 19th century.

‘Unmatched’ Wason Collection marks a century of nurturing Asian studies

April 23, 2018

Divison of Rare and Manuscript Collections

Crow on a branch, Kawanabe Kyōsai, 1887.

In 1912, Hu Shih, Class of 1914, and a group of friends donated 350 Chinese-language books to Cornell University Library “to add something to the completeness of the library itself.”

“As long as Cornell has Chinese students, this collection, I believe, will increase every year,” wrote Shih – who later served as China’s ambassador to the United States – in a letter to University Librarian George Harris.

Shih’s words proved to be prophetic. The donated books became the foundation of the Charles W. Wason Collection on East Asia, now one of the largest collections of its kind in North America and celebrating its centennial this year.

“The Wason Collection is unmatched because of the passion, commitment and generosity of those who spent a century creating it,” says Liren Zheng, Wason Collection curator. “It’s an unparalleled resource that inspires countless discoveries.”

Divison of Rare and Manuscript Collections

Trade card with color images of Korea, advertising Liebig’s Extract of Meat, 1904.

With around 740,000 volumes on China, Japan and Korea, as well as comprehensive online resources, the Wason Collection has nurtured East Asian studies at Cornell for generations. Through partnerships and shared access to collections, the Wason Collection also helps maintain relationships between Cornell and East Asia. International students say the Asian newspapers and Asian-language books and databases in the collection help then stay connected to home.