有關探討國立中央圖書館在戰時購藏古籍歷史，特別是戰時央圖暫存於香港大學馮平山圖書館遭日軍掠奪之古籍，以及戰後歸還問題，相關研究多以當事者蔣復璁館長所稱，係由他委託我國駐日軍事代表團代為訪查被日本劫運去的善本書，然後被代表團成員上海市教育局局長顧毓琇在日本帝國圖書館找到，再經與日方洽商後收回，陸續運回南京。本文認為，以顧氏尋獲央圖善本的說法並不正確。為了瞭解央圖留港古籍遭日劫掠圖書尋獲過程，本文將透過相關文獻分析與史料爬梳，釐清11 種不同的說法，探討相關研究之觀點來源，藉由敘事研究取向，探討各方說法的遞變過程，以期獲得這些被研究者建構出來的尋寶者們是如何加入或者被附會為1946 年尋獲央圖流落日本境內古籍的貢獻者。最後，本文彙整各方所提出之探索央圖善本下落，分析現象與人際關係資源運用，認為真正引導代表團、外交部派駐港澳官員訪得善本者，應屬當時參與遠東委員會之英軍博薩爾少校與隸屬香港軍政府軍事法庭之調查官端納少尉之貢獻。

During the War of Resistance against Japan, the National Central Library (Republic of China) purchased a collection of rare books. Some of these books were then temporarily deposited at the University of Hong Kong’s Fung Ping Shan Library. In 1942, they were discovered and removed by Japanese troops, but after the war were eventually traced to Japan and recovered. Scholars researching how these books were found all cite a statement by the then Director-General of the National Central Library, Chiang Fu-tsung. He once stated that he asked the Chinese Mission in Japan to search for the books, which were finally tracked down and recovered from the Imperial Library by Ku Yu-hsiu, Director of the Shanghai Education Bureau. As far as the author can ascertain, there are currently at least eleven different explanations for how these books were found and recovered. To understand the truth of the matter, this study analyzes the documentary evidence to identify the differences in these accounts. This study argues that the key figures in discovering the whereabouts of the books were in fact two British officers: Charles Ralph Boxer and H. G. Donald.