East Asian Resources

All posts with this tag are about the resources in the East Asian studies field.

Columbia University: New Chinese studies archival collections

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.

UMN: Primary Sources on Taiwan

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.

North Korean Comic Books Database

The North Korean Comic Books Database is a spreadsheet created by Jacco Zwetsloot, who was a student at Leiden University and has been researching and cataloguing North Korean comic books since 2012. This comprehensive database is to assist Korean studies librarians and interested researchers in identifying and understanding the scope of the North Korean comic books.

Link to the database.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please feel free to contact Jacco Zwetsloot at [email protected].

UMN New Streaming Film: Carving the divine: Buddhist sculptors of Japan

The University Libraries have just purchased a documentary film, "Carving the divine : Buddhist sculptors of Japan," about the Buddhist woodcarving tradition of Būshi and the practitioners struggling to preserve its legacy in a rapidly changing Japan.

The film is available in 2 versions: a 98-minute full-length and a 58-minute cut version. Both versions are in Japanese with English subtitles.

Stanford University: The Japanese-occupied China Collection

Stanford University has just announced the the launch of the online bibliography "The Japanese-occupied China Collection." This site provides detailed information about—and links to—an extensive collection of primary source materials, including publications primarily in the Chinese language and archival documents from the period of the Japanese occupation in China (1932–1945), now housed at Stanford University—primarily within the East Asia Library and the Hoover Institution.

New collections: Independence Evening Post (自立晚報) & Chōya Shinbun (朝野新聞) (OPEN ACCESS)

As part of EastView's 2024 & 2025 Global Press Archives (GPA) Area Studies Initiative Offers, two East Asian Newspapers are made open access to the public. (UMN contributed!)

Direct link to the Independence Evening Post (自立晚報).

Library catalog page of Independence Evening Post (自立晚報).

Direct link to Chōya Shinbun (朝野新聞).

Library catalog page of Chōya Shinbun (朝野新聞).

UMN New Database:Japan Digital Archives Center (J-DAC): History of Japan's Trade and Industry Policy Online 通産政策史資料

Direct link to J-DAC: History of Japan's Trade and Industry Policy Online 通産政策史資料.

Library catalog page of J-DAC: History of Japan's Trade and Industry Policy Online 通産政策史資料.

J-DAC provides a multidisciplinary archival platform for researchers in the humanities and social sciences through the collection and consolidation of various cultural and historical records of Japan. We have purchased some sub-collections under the History of Japan's Trade and Industry Policy Online 通産政策史資料. For detalied list of titles available, please refer to the blog or the catalog page.

AM: East Asian LibGuide

AM (previously named Adam Matthew) has published an East Asian LibGuide to AM databases exploring East Asian history, politics, and culture. It's a good place to navigate the AM East Asian collection. However, the links in the guide will not directly grant you access to the databases UMN has subscribed to. You can either search the titles of each collection in the Libraries search or use the Proxy bookmarklet to reload the page.

UMN New Database: Databases on the history of contemporary Chinese political movements 中國當代政治運動史數據庫

Direct link to Databases on the history of contemporary Chinese political movements 中國當代政治運動史數據庫.

Library catalog page of Databases on the history of contemporary Chinese political movements 中國當代政治運動史數據庫.

This database contains original archival documents, along with Chinese Communist Party internal documents, representing the history of political movements during the Mao Zedong era.

UMN New Database: Dacheng Chinese Communist Party History Periodical Database ( -1949) 中共党史期刊数据库

Direct link to Dacheng Chinese Communist Party History Periodical Database ( -1949) 中共党史期刊数据库 (-1949).

Library catalog page of Dacheng Chinese Communist Party History Periodical Database ( -1949) 中共党史期刊数据库 (-1949).

This database contains more than 300 kinds of publications founded by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and founded and participated in by early Communist Party members before the founding of the CPC. These publications record the growth of the CPC and the Chinese revolution. Publications include: The Communist, The Guide, The Masses, The Pioneer, Military and Political Daily of the Eighth Route Army, Bolshevik, etc.