Rare British books to go on display in cultural exchange

Literature lovers in China are in for a treat because some of the British Library's most iconic books will soon be on display in Beijing, for the first time ever.

Great works by Shakespeare will be included in the exhibition.

Starting next month, 10 treasured handwritten manuscripts and early editions from some of Britain's greatest writers will be loaned to the National Library of China as part of a cultural exchange.

Among items on display at Shakespeare to Sherlock: Treasures of the British Library will be Charles Dickens' manuscript for Nicholas Nickleby, Charlotte Bronte's manuscript for Jane Eyre, and an early quarto edition of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, which was once owned by King George III.

The 1598 volume will be shown alongside a Ming Dynasty (1368-1911) copy of The Peony Pavilion, by Shakespeare's Chinese contemporary Tang Xianzu.

Jamie Andrews, head of culture and learning at the British Library said: "There is something special about seeing an object that is hundreds of years old and it is also an original object in the author's own handwriting, there is a really special connection to the original moment of creativity and that's a unique experience."

Andrews said many items were considered for the exhibition.

"When we started to reduce the number of possibilities to just 10 items, one of the names immediately was Shakespeare. Shakespeare is so important to the British Library, he is a world figure and Shakespeare has resonance in China as well, so we felt he should certainly be there."

Also in the exhibition are classics that have become popular in China though TV and film adaptations, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes tale The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter, and Ian Fleming's James Bond story The Living Daylights.

Andrews said Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his Sherlock Holmes stories have become very popular in China because of TV and film adaptations.

"Just with Shakespeare to Sherlock, we have 400 years of British creativity and writing," he said.

The government-funded exhibition will cost 1.6 million pounds ($2 million) to stage and is part of an ambitious cultural exchange program with China that will continue until 2019 and include a series of pop-up exhibitions in Shanghai, Wuzhen in Zhejiang province, and Hong Kong. The Beijing exhibition starts April 21 and continues for two months.

Andrews said: "We want people to enjoy all these experiences. We want them to enjoy seeing these objects, to have curiosity to learn more, to see the objects and go online and find out more about the collection and find out the connection between UK and Chinese authors."