NEW
- Epitaphs of the Song Dynasty This link opens in a new windowAccess is limited to one concurrent user and the 初编 edition and sequel
Epitaphs of the Song Dynasty comprehensively integrates various stone inscription resources of the Song Dynasty, and uses the collected rubbings, handed-down documents, and compiled and published ancient books (such as various complete works, epigraphy, etc.) to provide full-text search and reading and picture-text comparison services on the basis of punctuation, segmentation, and textual research on the content of the documents. This product is a preliminary compilation, and a total of about 8,800 stone inscription document-related resources are included. - Books of Modern China (1840~1949), 中国近代图书全文数据库 This link opens in a new windowPublications from 1840 to 1949 witnessed the radical changes of Chinese society from politics, economy, culture, education and other aspects, which are considered valuable historically and academically.
Among the 120,000 books collected in Books of Modern China (1840~1949), many are rare books, such as first editions of famous writers’ books. - Picture Gallery of Chinese Modern Literature (1833~1949) 图述百年—中国近代文献图库 This link opens in a new windowThe Picture Gallery of Chinese Modern Literature (1833-1949), 图述百年—中国近代文献图库 contains more than one million images that have been collected from books, periodicals, newspapers, and old photos held by the Shanghai Library.
Tools & Tips
- CJKV-English dictionaryDictionaries for the Study of Buddhist and East Asian Language and Thought - compiled by Prof. Charles Muller of the University of Tokyo.
E-resources (UVA access only)
- SuperStar Journals Database - 超星期刊 This link opens in a new window 超星期刊 Superstar Journals Database contains 6,500 full-text Chinese journals. It covers many disciplines including cultures, education, philosophy, social sciences, engineering, and medicine. This database not only provides users with the traditional PDF format, it also enables users to stream full articles and journals to their mobile devices.
- CADAL- 大学数字图书馆国际合作计划 CADAL is a digital cooperative. It is led by and housed in Zhejiang University, and most major Chinese academic institutions such as Peking, Qinghua, Fudan and Nanjing universities were participants from the beginning.
- Duxiu - 读秀 This link opens in a new window Duxiu is a discovery tool for Chinese books (2 millions+) and other types of resources. It allows a user to read sample pages of a book. The user can then request to have 50 pages or 20% of the book delivered electronically every week. Internet Explorer is recommended. Please note that depending upon different publications’ copyright restrictions, not all resources found in Duxiu have the same level of content access.
- SuperStar Digital Library - 超星数字图书馆 This link opens in a new window Hundreds of thousands of Chinese books in all categories are scanned, many provided online for free. Especially valuable are numerous titles in local histories (地方志) throughout the country.
- China Doctoral Dissertation & Masters' Theses Database (CDMD) 中国博硕论文全文数据库 This link opens in a new window CDMD contains nearly 450,000 doctoral dissertations and over 4.4 million master’s theses on a wide range of topics, including basic science, engineering and technology, agriculture, medicine, philosophy, and humanities and social sciences. Users can browse by subject or degree grantor, or search multiple fields in quick, basic, professional, fund or sentence search modes.
- Books of Modern China (1840~1949), 中国近代图书全文数据库 This link opens in a new window Part of Shanghai Library's 全国报刊索引 platform
- Chinese Periodical Full-text Database (1911~1949) Series 1-11 (民国时期期刊全文数据库) This link opens in a new window Part of Shanghai Library's 全国报刊索引 platform
- Late Qing Dynasty Periodical Full-text Database (1833～1911) (晚清期刊全文数据库) This link opens in a new window Part of Shanghai Library's 全国报刊索引 platform
- Chinese Newspaper of Modern China This link opens in a new window Part of Shanghai Library's 全国报刊索引 platform, the database includes full-text with PDF images of the original print version for the following newspapers: Sheng-ching Shih-pao 盛京时报, 1906~1944 - a Japanese newspaper (in Chinese) enjoyed huge influence in the Northeast China. Shun Pao 申报, 1872~1949 - the most important modern Chinese newspaper, complete coverage of all 27,534 issues (Shanghai, Hankou, and Hong Kong versions). The China Times 时事新报, 1911~1948 - one of the "Four Major Newspapers" in Shanghai during the Republic of China. The National Herald 神州日报, 1907~1946 - the first large-scale daily newspaper founded by the revolutionaries of the late Qing Dynasty. 综合专辑(1897-1949), 精心選取近3,000 種覆蓋中國各地，包括北京、上海、香港、武漢等近代報業發達的城市，以及海外出版的中文報紙.
- China Press (1911～1949) This link opens in a new window Part of Shanghai Library's 全国报刊索引 platform. The China Press was initiated by Chinese and founded by Americans. It adopted the American editing style and was the first known English newspaper published in modern China by professional journalists instead of businessmen or missionaries.
- North-China Daily News & Herald Newspapers and Hong Lists (1850~1951) 字林洋行中英文报纸全文数据库 This link opens in a new window Part of Shanghai Library's 全国报刊索引 platform. This database covers the English and Chinese newspapers published by North-China Daily News & Herald, Limited, the largest British-founded press agency in Shanghai. Newspaper titles include The North-China Herald《北华捷报, The North-China Daily News《字林西报, The Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser《上海新报, Hu Bao《沪报, Han Bao《汉报, Xiao Xian Bao《消闲报, and The North-China Desk Hong List《字林西报行名录》published by the company.
- Picture Gallery of Chinese Modern Literature (1833~1949) 图述百年—中国近代文献图库 This link opens in a new window Part of Shanghai Library's 全国报刊索引 platform
- Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics This link opens in a new window Authoritative and comprehensive resource on current and past languages and linguistic studies of China.
- Grand Secretariat Archives - 內閣大庫檔案 This link opens in a new window Database for Ming and Qing documents that include imperial decrees, edicts, memorials, documents from the offices of the Grand Secretariat, as well as various examination related documents. Many of the recorded administrative activities and legal cases cannot be found in Qing legal compendia.
- Si ku quan shu (Wen yuan ge edition)- 四庫全書 This link opens in a new window Compiled 1773-1782 by edict from Emperor Qianlong, the collection contains 3,460 Chinese works in 36,000 volumes, including history, astronomy, geography, politics, economics, and more. Fully-searchable full-text. VPN required for off-Grounds access.
- Scripta Sinica - 漢籍全文 漢籍全文資料庫內容包括經、史、子、集四部，其中以史部為主，經、子、集部為輔。若以類別相屬，又可略分為宗教文獻、醫藥文獻、文學與文集、政書、類書與史料彙編等，三十餘年來累計收錄歷代典籍已達九百零五種，六億三千九百五十九萬字，內容幾乎涵括了所有重要的典籍。
- 文化大革命文库 - 中国反右运动数据库 [Cultural revolution] With over ten thousand primary documents totaling nearly thirty million words, this database represents a compilation of historical resources of monumental proportions. [Anti-Rightist Campaign] Even though over ten thousand titles of primary sources are already included in this database, it is difficult for it to be thorough and all-inclusive due to all kinds of restrictions and difficulties, coupled with the challenges of working on this project outside China.
- China Laws and Regulations Database This link opens in a new window The China Laws & Regulations Database began in 1949, covering national laws and regulations, administrative regulations, local regulations, international treaties and practices, judicial interpretations, contract templates, etc., authoritative and professional. It is updated monthly, and the annual new addition is not less than 80,000.
- China Statistical Yearbooks Database (CSYD) 中国经济社会发展统计数据库 This link opens in a new window China Statistical Yearbooks (CSYD) contains all key statistical yearbooks published in mainland China, covering various types of census and survey data including analysis reports, statistical summaries, investment material, and data compilations. Content in CSYD is classified by 18 industries, 40 districts and 6 types of documents, and covers a wide range of economic, social, and environmental topics. Content is in Chinese, with many headings and tables of contents translated into English. User introduction video link
Selected online resources (open access)
- Open Databases for China Studies Resource Guide This guide provides an overview of open databases and free resources with primary materials for China studies research. The guide was edited by Joshua Seufert (Princeton University Libraries) and Luo Zhou (Duke University Libraries) for the Luce/ACLS Digital Archives Mapping Project. This guide will be updated periodically, with an expanded directory to be released in winter 2025.
- Oxford Bibliographies Peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on China across all disciplines.
- China Unofficial Archives = 中国民间档案馆 This site is dedicated to making accessible the key documents, films, blogs, and publications of a movement of Chinese people seeking to reclaim their country's history. Unlike official government or university archives, the China Unofficial Archives is open, free, and accessible to anyone from any walk of life. The site is fully bilingual in Chinese and English, the international language of scholarship.
- 国家哲学社会科学文献中心 Free access to 7,000 journals published in China.
- List of PRC History Sources A web portal of the sources related to the history of the People’s Republic of China.
- Historic newspapers published in China available Open Access online This steadily growing list of Chinese, Japanese and English language newspapers, periodicals, and related publications, published in China (mostly) and freely accessible online is collated with thanks from tweets by @MossonStone1 and other sources. Unless otherwise noted, all titles are hosted on Internet Archive as single issue PDFs.
- Late Qing and Republican-Era Chinese Newspapers The collection provides researchers a richly comprehensive perspective on Chinese life, culture, and politics throughout the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, the years of provisional government and civil war, and the birth of the People’s Republic.
- Index to Film-related Materials in Early Chinese Newspapers - 早期华文报纸电影史料库 The research team collected and analyzed twenty thousand film advertisements, news items and articles in Chinese newspapers from late Qing to the Republican era in four cities: Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Tianjin, which represent four major regions, including the Chinese diaspora, Southern China, Eastern China and Northern China.
- 抗战文献数据平台 抗日战争与近代中日关系文献数据平台（www.modernhistory.org.cn）由中国社会科学院、国家图书馆和国家档案局合作筹建，近代史所承办。旨在打造涵盖海内外抗战和近代中日关系的文献共享和学术交流平台
- Chinese Foreign Policy Database (Wilson Center) Curating 1000s of documents from Chinese and international archives, it offers insights into China’s foreign policy since 1949 and its relationship to ideology, revolution, the economy, and traditional Chinese culture.
- 明清婦女著作」數字檔案與數據庫 - Ming-Qing Women's Writings 他he Ming Qing Women's Writings digital archive and database project is dedicated to the digitization of collections of writings by women in late imperial China (1368-1911).
- Chinese Women's Magazines in the Late Qing and Early Republican Period Focus on four seminal women's or gendered journals-a key genre of the new media-published between 1904 and 1937. They include Nüzi shijie (Women's World, 1904-07), Funü shibao (The Women's Eastern Times, 1911-17), Funü zazhi (The Ladies' Journal, 1915-31), and Linglong (Elegance, 1931-37).
- 上海年华 (中国现代电影期刊全目书志) 共收录1949年前出版的电影杂志376种，是迄今为止有关电影史志收录现代影刊品种最多的一种。所收每种期刊均有详细的提要、内容列举、特色分析、出版经过的考证，且每种都附相关书影.
- Chinese Text Project The Chinese Text Project is an online open-access digital library that makes pre-mordern Chinese texts available to readers and researchers all around the world. 網站有中、英文版本，也有繁、簡體版，可通過每頁左上角的連結隨時調整
- Taiwan Statistical Database The database is produced by the Statistic Bureau of Taiwan and contains national statistics back to 1996. The site contains statistical tables of various national censuses and statistical analysis.
- 台湾华文电子书库 = Taiwan eBook database Digitized collections (published from 1911-14949) from National Taiwan University Library, National Taiwan Normal University Library, National Cheng-Chi University Library, National Library of Public Information, National Taiwan Library, Cultural Affairs Bureau of Penghu County, Academia Historica and other government agencies.
- Hong Kong Journals Online (HKJO) Full-text image database providing access to selected academic and professional journals, both in English and Chinese, published in Hong Kong.
- 香港晚清民国报纸全文数据库 香港公共图书馆将晚清民国时期在香港发行的14种中英文报纸全文数码化，包括《遐迩贯珍》,《循环日报》，《大公报》香港版。英文报纸则涵盖了香港几种主要的日报。有些报纸一直出版到1980年代，对于探究1950-1980年代香港社会文化生活也极具价值。
- 中華電子佛典 - Chinese Buddhist Electronic Texts Free online full-text database of the Chinese Tripiṭaka. Currently includes the Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經 and Wan xu Zang 卍續藏.
- The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online IDP is a ground-breaking international collaboration to make information and images of all manuscripts, paintings, textiles and artefacts from Dunhuang and archaeological sites of the Eastern Silk Road freely available on the Internet.
English-Language Resources
- Bibliography of Asian Studies This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1971 - present
Lists journal articles and book chapters on all subjects related to Asia. Most articles are in western languages. Includes book reviews.
- Dissertation ReviewsFeaturing recently defended, unpublished doctoral dissertations in a wide variety of disciplines across the Humanities and Social Sciences.
- Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new windowFull text (PDF) of most US dissertations from 1997 on, many earlier works and some from outside the US plus some master's theses. Also lists all dissertations and theses from 1861 on from US universities and some works from Europe and Asia from 1637 on. Abstracts included after July, 1980.
See also Finding Dissertations - Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowLarge general database of articles from scholarly journals and a few newspapers covering a wide range of topics. Millions of full-text articles, many with images.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull-text backfiles of many important scholarly journals from a range of disciplines. Coverage usually from the first issue to 3-5 years before the present.
- Project MUSE This link opens in a new windowSearchable full text of over 100 scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics, mostly from North American university presses. Older volumes are often available from JSTOR.
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowCompany and business information from Dow Jones; articles from over 6,000 newspapers and periodicals plus news photographs. Select "News pages" to browse daily issues of recent newspapers from many countries; use "Search" to find older articles. Access, provided through VIVA Consortium, is limited to 70 concurrent users.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowFind articles about the history of the world from 1450 to the present, published in over 2,000 journals from many countries. Includes book reviews. Does not include articles about the US or Canada. For these see America: History & Life.
- NexisUni This link opens in a new windowNews and business information from sources around the world; book reviews, biographical, and other reference sources; U.S. Code, constitution, and court cases. Includes many newspapers. Most entries are full-text, some updated daily.
- Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new windowSearch the full text of nearly 400 international humanities and social sciences journals published from 1770 to the 1990s.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowNew York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Defender, Chicago Tribune, Norfolk Journal and Guide, Pittsburgh Courier, NY Amsterdam News, Baltimore Afro-American, Washington Post, and The Guardian & The Observer.