One of very few early Chinese books owned by the Library, this 18th-century edition of the Kangxi Dictionary sheds light on the Library’s role within an increasingly global field of research and collection. Not only has the item itself travelled to Oxford, it generated interest and cooperation from one of the first Chinese travellers to England, Wang-y-Tong. When visiting St John’s College, he allegedly viewed and correctly arranged the volumes, which were previously out of order.