From the Library’s Special Collections, this display presents books from the last dynasty of Imperial China, the Qing (1644–1912), whose ruling class, the Manchu, was an ethnic minority group from northeastern China.

Most of the books on display are bilingual, written in both classical Chinese and the Manchu language. These include Manchu-Chinese dictionaries, Manchu translations of Confucian classics, and other moral teachings that formed the essential knowledge set for a scholar-official in Imperial China.

Other Chinese books on display feature exemplary essays of the Imperial Civil Service Examination, as well as rules, regulations, and other records of state administration, offering a glimpse into the operations of the Qing government.