East Asian Resources

Direct link to China Modern Gazetteer Full-Text Database

Library catalog page of China Modern Gazetteer Full-Text Database.

This database aggregates over 3000 county gazetteers compiled since 1949. It includes full-text search functions and also digitizes and verifies tables from the gazetteers, providing downloadable spreadsheets to support data analysis and research workflows.

Direct link to Manhua Digital Archive 漫画月刊

Library catalog page of Manhua Digital Archive 漫画月刊.

Manhua (漫画; 漫画月刊) was a state-sponsored pictorial magazine published in the People’s Republic of China through the 1950s. This database includes complete issues, full-page images and searchable texts.

Direct link to South China Sea Island Disputes: 1877-1988 

Library catalog page of South China Sea Island Disputes: 1877-1988 

South China Sea Island Disputes: 1877–1988 is an assembly of select texts, maps, and official documents from various national archives that present a primary record of multiple international territorial disputes surrounding the South China Sea and its various islands in the period 1877 to 1988. 

Direct link to Shen Bao Digital Archive 申報 (1872-1949).

Library catalog page of Shen Bao Digital Archive 申報 (1872-1949).

Established in 1872, Shen Bao (申報) was the most influential and longest-lasting commercial newspaper before the establishment of the People’s Republic. The collection contains full issues, images, and is full-text searchable.

Direct link to Rural Studies Database 乡村研究数据库

Library catalog page of Rural Studies Database 乡村研究数据库.

The database is about “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers,” urban–rural relations, ethnic minority regions, and overseas rural studies. It includes both published and unpublished materials such as survey reports, survey data, local chronicles, folk documents, official documents, and oral histories, in various formats including books, articles, policies, news, images, audio, and video. 

It consists of three sub-databases: 

• Database for “Three Rural Issues” Research “三农”研究数据库
• Village Investigation Research Database 村落调查研究数据库
• County/City Investigation Research Database 县市调查研究数据库.

University of Maryland has recently add new digitizations and newly acquired papers in the Gordon W. Prange Collection.

New digitizations and acquisitions include:

• Digitized photo albums and loose photos - Mead Smith Karras papers
• Digitized slides - Victor E. Delnore papers
• Digitized slides - Roy W. Simonson papers
• Digitized oral histories audio files & transcripts - Marlene Mayo Oral Histories

Direct link to Enlarged Yeonhaengrok Collections 연행록총간 燕行錄叢刊增補版 (KRpia).

Library catalog page of Enlarged Yeonhaengrok Collections 연행록총간 燕行錄叢刊增補版 (KRpia).

The Yeonhaengrok Collection is a collection of travelogues recorded by Korean envoys who traveled to China during the Koryŏ and Chosŏn dynasties from the 12th century to the 19th century. Users can browse travel records by time period, king, and author. It is multi-languages searchable full-text including classical Korean and Chinese.

The C.V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University has made four New Chinese archival collections available. It includes:

Wu Dizhou papers 吴荻舟档案

Chin-Tang Lo papers 羅錦堂档案

Myron L. Cohen papers

Collection of Correspondences between Chen Yande and Li Yaying 陈衍德与李亚英往来通信

To access these collections, one needs to make an in-person appointment via Columbia’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Primary Sources on Taiwan is a living project that contains a growing selection of primary historical sources in English translation for the study of Taiwan, covering the period from Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945) to the present. Compiled by Wayne Soon and Evan Dawley, with translations by various contributors. The website is now hosted by UMN.