In recent years, the Chinese Heritage Virtual Museum has strived to produce a series of catalogues, such as Mountains Ablaze-Exodus and Restoration, Preliminary Catalogue of Inkworks, Books, and Artefacts by Personages of the Republic of China 1949-1987; A Collection of Memorial Books, Part One and Part Two; Catalogue of Historic Documents, Writings, Certificates and Letters in the Wang Ch’ung-hui Collection; An Account of the T’ang En-p’u (唐恩溥) Collection: His Father’s Schoolworks, His Own Writings, Letters and Various Personal Items; and now coming up is the latest Voyage of Sinology from East to West: Preliminary Catalogue of Letters, Books and Artefacts of Western and Chinese Personages Across Three Hundred Years.

Although a catalogue is frequently deprived of literary flair, reading it may even be bland, to acquire an overall view, to gain a perspective of contexts and narratives, are only attainable through a catalogue. Furthermore, time is finite while knowledge is infinite, even if an additional thirty years is granted by Providence, a topic a month will only assemble three hundred and sixty topics, far too inadequate to chronicle the vast quantity of cultural artefacts available at the Chinese Heritage Virtual Museum, far too feeble to elucidate the epic tales of the myriad human characters and events. This Catalogue is thus offered, to seek the broadest and richest panorama, for the mind to roam, and to apprehend the Voyage of Sinology.

Curatorial and Editorial Department