On the eve of Japanese invasion of China, there were 4,747 libraries in China, but by 1943, the number of libraries in China had dropped to 940, four fifths of which were either destroyed or robbed. During the Japanese invasion, China lost 40% of its library books.

From 65438 to 0905, China began to establish a modern library system. By 1930, all major provinces and cities in China have established public libraries. Most of these libraries were looted by the Japanese army.

According to the documents of Japan and China, during the Nanjing Massacre, the Japanese army systematically looted various libraries in Nanjing, and the total number of looted books reached 897 178.