Research Guides: Chinese Studies: Historical Primary Sources

Finding Chinese & Taiwanese History Materials

Browsing the Stacks:

DS701-799.9-- China, History (Strozier, 3rd Floor)
- DS730-731 Ethnography
- DS733-779.32 History
- DS781-796 Local History and description (Manchuria, Tibet, Hong Kong)
- DS798 Outer Mongolia. Mongolian People's Republic
- DS798.92-799.9 Taiwan

Searching the Catalog: (LC Subject Headings - general)

China -- History
China -- Historiography
China -- History, Military
China -- Civilization
China -- Religious life and customs
China -- Social conditions
Women -- China -- History
Sex role -- China -- History

Primary Source Material

Chinese Pamphlets
Mass education materials published in Hong Kong and in Mainland China, particularly Shanghai, in the years 1947-1954.
China and the United States: From Hostility to Engagement, 1960–1998 (DNSA)
More than 2,000 documents concerning the relationship between the United States and China, with an emphasis on the 1969–1998 time period. The documents include memos, cables, and studies concerning U.S. diplomatic relations with China, records concerning the U.S.-PRC security relationship, documents related to the economic and scientific association with the PRC, and intelligence estimates and studies concerning the PRC's foreign policy objectives, military capabilities, and internal situation.
Chinese Digital Archive 1966-1976
More than 200 digitized documents dealing with the Cultural Revolution.
U.S. Intelligence and China: Collection, Analysis and Covert Action (DNSA)
Documents addressing a diversity of topics, ranging from military capabilities to domestic policies.
East Asian Collection (UW-Madison)
Images that document early 20th century China including the the Sino-Japanese Conflict (1937-1945), a visual history of Buddhist practices and temples in China, and other images of daily life in both rural and urban China.
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
HahtiTrust Digital Library
HathiTrust Digital Library contains millions of books digitized from library collections across the country. FSU users have access to many full text documents and can create new collections of material. To learn how to log into HathiTrust using Shibboleth see our guide to HathiTrust (http://guides.lib.fsu.edu/hathitrust).

Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Eighteenth Century Collections Online is based on The English Short Title Catalogue, a machine-readable union list of the holdings of the British Library, as well as those from more than 1,500 university, private and public libraries worldwide. This includes over 150,000 English-language titles and editions published between 1701–1800. This online collection is divided into seven subject areas: history and geography; social science and fine arts; medicine, science and technology; literature and language; religion and philosophy; law; and reference. Part II expands the collection with an emphasis on literature, social science, and religion.

FSU has access to parts one and two.
Abbreviation: 18thcen
Vendor: Gale
Coverage: 1701–1800
Subjects: History, Literature
Type: E-Book Collections, Historical / Primary Sources
Nineteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
The Nineteenth Century Collections Online includes Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange; British Politics and Society; British Theatre, Music, Literature: High and Popular Culture; Children's Literature and Childhood; European Literature, 1790-1840: The Corvey Collection; Europe and Africa, Colonialism and Culture; Mapping the World: Maps and Travel Literature; Photography: The World Through the Lens; Religion, Spirituality, Reform, and Society; Science, Technology, and Medicine, 1780–1925; Science, Technology, and Medicine, 1780–1925, Part II; Women: Transnational Networks.
Abbreviation: ncco
Vendor: Gale
Coverage: 1780–1925
Subjects: Art History, History, Literature, Religion
Type: E-Book Collections, Historical / Primary Sources
C19: The Nineteenth Century Index This link opens in a new window
A multi-disciplinary database providing bibliographic access—more than 20,000,000 records—to books, periodical and newspaper articles, government publications, and archival collections. It is probably the most comprehensive source for English language material printed in the 19th Century. C19 combines a variety of print and digital resources into one database, and also allows limited searching of specialized sub-collections. The Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue, for example seeks to include all printed books published in Britain, its colonies and the United States of America, all printed books in English wherever published, and all translations from English.

C19 also provides indexing of the Times of London and hundreds of British and American periodicals, congressional and parliamentary publications. In addition, C19 provides bibliographic access to several periodical and document collections which Rutgers has acquired, thus allowing effective cross searching.
Collections indexed include:
    Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue
    Nineteenth Century Microfiche Project
    American Periodical Series
    British Periodicals I & II
    Periodicals Index Online
    Poole's Index to Periodical Literature
    Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, 1824-1900
    House of Commons Parliamentary Papers
    U.S. Congressional Serial Set
    Archive Finder
    Palmer's Index to the Times [of London]
    Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Journalism
    American State Papers, 1789–1838

Abbreviation: c19
Vendor: ProQuest
Coverage: 1800-1900
Subjects: Art History, History, Literature
Type: Historical / Primary Sources, Indexes / Catalogs

Chinese Rare Book Collection
A digital collection of early rare early Chinese books hosted by the World Digital Library
Bao Juan 寶卷 Collection
87 titles of Bao Juan in Harvard-Yenching library rare collections are being digitized. Among them, 74 titles are from the Hanan collection, 7 titles are in Ming dynasty.
Chinese Republican Period (1911-1949) Collection 哈佛燕京圖書館藏民國時期文獻
Image files of 1138 Chinese publications from the Republican periods(over 1800 volumes), most of them are the government reports. Click on the link above to search HOLLIS for the list of items.
Chinese Rubbings 拓片收藏
1067 full-image reproductions of Chinese rubbings held by the Harvard-Yeching Library. Detailed information is available in HOLLIS and VIA. Click on the link above to search HOOLIS for materials available.
Gaochao Ben Digitization Project 哈佛燕京图书馆中文善本特藏稿钞本选辑
31 titles.
Lecture Notes 大學講義
19 titles.
Manchu Rare Books 滿文古籍
69 t. 368 vol.
Ming-Qing Women's Writings 明清婦女著作 (McGill University Library 合作項目)
Online digital archive of writings by women from the Ming-Qing period held by the Harvard-Yeching Library. Besides scanned images of 90 texts, the database also allows browsing and searching by a number of features besides title and author, such as poetic from, marital status, tune pattern, and native region. Term may be entered in pinyin or traditional characters.
Personal Collection of Prof. Patrick Hanan (1927-2014) 韩南教授藏书
314 t., 256 vol.
Qi Rushan Collection 齐如山藏书
42 t, 208 vol.

World Bank
Search for relevant information by topic, i.e. Environment, or by country
National Security Archive: Sources on Asia
Browse the China and East Asia Electronic Briefing Books (EEBSs) or search for your country/topic for relevant information.
Wilson Center Digital Archive
Collection of documents covering the Cold War in Europe, East Asia and the Mideast; some translated and others in original foreign language.
National Bureau of Statistics of China 中华人民共和国国家统计局
Gov.cn: The Chinese Central Government's Official Web Portal
Provides authentic access to updated information on Chinese government, and its programs, initiatives and services, as well as facts about China.
Chinese Maritime Customs 中國舊海關資料
233 v. from 1860-1949
Qi Brothers Collection 齐氏兄弟 (齊耀琳, 齊耀珊) 藏书
425 t. Government documents in Qing dynasty.

East Asia Image Collection
The East Asia Image Collection, edited by Paul D. Barclay, is an open-access archive of digitized photographs, negatives, postcards, and slides of imperial Japan (1868-1945), its Asian empire (1895-1945) and occupied Japan (1947-52). Images of Taiwan 台湾, Japan 日本, China 中国, Korea 朝鮮, Manchuria 満洲国, and Indonesia are included. - See more at: http://digital.lafayette.edu/collections/eastasia#sthash.HfthLZb0.dpuf
International Mission Photography Archive (IMPA)
Offers historical images from Protestant and Catholic missionary collections in Britain, Norway, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the United States. The photographs, which range in time from the middle of the nineteenth to the middle of the twentieth century, offer a visual record of missionary activities and experiences in Africa, China, Madagascar, India, Papua-New Guinea, and the Caribbean
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection - Asian Historical Maps
Links to Asian historical maps.
Botanical and Cultural Images of Eastern Asia, 1907-1927
Over 4,500 botanical and cultural images of Eastern Asian.
NPM Collections Online 故宮典藏圖像資料庫
Including art from different areas.
China Historical GIS
Create a database of historical administrative unites for different periods of Chinese history.
Chinese Civilization in Time and Space 中華文明之時空基礎架構
This system aims to construct an integrated GIS-based application infrastructure within the spatial extent of China, in the time frame of Chinese history, and with the contents of Chinese civilization. This system consists of three major components: basic geospatial materialss, WebGIS integrated application environment, and thematic information.
Database of Taiwan Old Photos 台灣舊照片資料庫片
Taiwan old photos during the Japanese Occupied Period/ Taiwan University
Hedda Morrison Photographs of China 莫里士中国老照片, 1933-1946
Some 5,000 photographs and 10,000 negatives taken by Hedda Hammer Morrison(1908-1991) while resident in Beijing from 1933 to 1946. The photographs, mounted in thematic albums prepared by Mrs. Morrison, and the negatives, were bequeathed to the Harvard-Yeching Library, "the best permanent home for her vision of a city and people that she loved [Alastair Morrison]"
Rev. Claude L. Pickens, Jr. Collection on Muslims in China 皮肯斯中国穆斯林老照片
Over 1000 photos of Muslims and Christian missionaries working among them in Western China in the 1920s and 1930s form the core of this collection, which is supplemented by several hundred books, pamphlets, broadsides, etc., in several languages.

Microform Collections:

For microform collections of Chinese newspapers do a subject search in the library catalog for China newspapers. Many of these titles must be requested from the Center of Research Libraries which can be done directly from the catalog record.

Digital Collections:

People's Daily–Renmin Ribao (2 concurrent user limit) This link opens in a new window
People's Daily is the most influential and authoritative newspaper in China. It is the official voice of the central government of the People's Republic of China. For the last 70 years, the People's Daily has published daily issues that provide the single location where the central government and the Communist Party of China announce their respective policies and disseminate governmental, political, and economic messages to the public and the world. Most importantly, since its inception the newspaper has been the true barometer of the political climate of Chinese society on a daily basis. Access limited to 2 users.
Abbreviation: renmin
Vendor: Ori Probe Information Service
Coverage: 1946–Current
Subjects: Asian Studies, History
Type: Historical / Primary Sources, Newspapers and Newswires
New York Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window
Offers full-page-images and article images from the New York Times newspaper from its first issue in 1851 to three years before the current date. This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand primary source accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.
Abbreviation: nythist
Vendor: ProQuest
Coverage: 1850–Current - 3 years
Subjects: History
Type: Historical / Primary Sources, Newspapers and Newswires

Wall Street Journal (Historical)
Coverage from 1889-1999 from the infamous financial newspaper. Off-campus users must log in with their FSU credentials.
Los Angeles Times (Historical)
Provides comprehensive coverage for Southern California's largest daily newspaper. Includes all the articles published since the first issue of the paper in 1881. Provides full text and full image articles with digital reproductions of every page, every article and every issue in PDF format. In addition to news stories, includes editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements. Updates vary, current coverage 1881-1992.
Chicago Tribune (Historical)
Provides a unique historical perspective of the development of Chicago and the Midwest in the 19th and 20th centuries. Offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to 1849. Updates vary, current coverage 1849-1992.

Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Searchable and browsable digital reproduction, cover to cover, of the London Times in PDF files, 1785–1985 and 2015-2019. The PDFs in this database are not transcribed into text, so you may need to search for keywords with unusual spelling for earlier copies. For articles outside of these dates, use the database Times (The London Times).
Abbreviation: tdar
Vendor: Gale
Coverage: 1785–1985, 2015–2019
Subjects: History
Type: Historical / Primary Sources, Images, Newspapers and Newswires
Burney Collection Newspapers This link opens in a new window
The Burney Collection Newspapers is a full-text, fully searchable digital archive of nearly 1,270 17th and 18th century newspapers and news pamphlets from the United Kingdom. Collected by the Reverend Charles Burney, this unique collection represents the largest single archive of 17th and 18th century news media available from the British Library. In addition, there are approximately three hundred "newsbooks." Circulated during the Civil War and the Commonwealth, newsbooks were small, cheap weekly pamphlets of current news, the precursors to modern newspapers, Finally, the collection also includes almost three hundred pamphlets and broadsides. The 17th–18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers chronicles a critical period in the political history of Great Britain and as well as the early history of journalism in the English-speaking world.
Abbreviation: bcn
Vendor: Gale
Coverage: 1603–1788
Subjects: History
Type: Historical / Primary Sources, Newspapers and Newswires

Historical Newspapers: Chinese Newspapers Collection

Chinese History: a new manual by Endymion Porter Wilkinson; Harvard University, Asia Center Staff (Contribution by)
Call Number: FSU STROZIER LIBRARY General Collection 3rd Floor -- DS735.W695 2015
Publication Date: 2015-09-07
Chinese History and Culture, Volume 1 by Ying-shih Yu
Call Number: E-Book
Publication Date: 2016
Chinese History and Culture, Volume 2 by Ying-shih Yu
Call Number: E-Book
Publication Date: 2016

Bibliography of Asian Studies This link opens in a new window
The Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) contains 840,000 records on all subjects (especially in the humanities and the social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide. The disciplinary scope of the BAS is in general intended to cover the humanities, the social sciences, architecture and those natural sciences that have strong human components, such as medicine, public health, geology and the environment.
Abbreviation: bas
Vendor: EBSCO
Coverage: 1971–Current
Subjects: Asian Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature, Philosophy & Ethics, Religion
Type: Indexes / Catalogs

Bibliography of Oriental Studies 東洋学文献類目
Bibliography compiled by the Documentation and Information Center for Chinese Studies at Kyoto University. Indexes books and journal articles in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and western languages.
Classical Historiography for Chinese History
中國經典文獻工具書錄
Compiled by Benjamin A. Elman 艾爾曼
Professor of East Asian Studies and History, Princeton University

A biographical and bibliographical dictionary of Chinese authors: Supplement. by Chen, Chengzhi
Call Number: FSU STROZIER LIBRARY Reference -- PL2277.C4 sup
Publication Date: 1976
Bibliography on Chinese social history by New Haven, Institute of Far Eastern Languages, Yale University
Call Number: FSU STROZIER LIBRARY Subbasement - Ask at Circulation -- Z3106.S85
Publication Date: 1952
China Bibliography: a Research Guide to Reference Works about China Past and Present by Harriet T. Zurndorfer
Call Number: FSU STROZIER LIBRARY Reference -- DS706.Z87 1995
Publication Date: 1995
The ALA Guide to Researching Modern China by Yunshan Ye
Call Number: E-Book
ISBN: 9780838912096
Publication Date: 2014