Research Guides: HIST 150: Memories and Historical Narratives in China (Fall 2023): Primary Sources Databases

What is a Primary Source?

Secondary Sources are materials written after the event. Examples:

Books
Articles
Documentaries

Primary Sources are the direct historic article or event being examined, or contemporary materials about the event/film. Examples:

A historic document
Contemporary newspaper articles or interviews about the film

NOTE: Whether a a source is primary or secondary depends on the topic being studied. Example:

The film "Raise the Red Lantern" is a non-academic secondary source if your topic is 1920s China, because it was produced 70 years later.
But the film becomes a primary source if the topic is how 1920s China is remembered at the turn of the 20th century.

Tips!

Language has changed over the centuries, and it is often difficult to speak like - and think like - our ancestors, even in the 20th century.

Words like college, race, gender meant different things.
Most primary source databases will have "thematic" filters to get you started. Before keyword searching, start there. See what curated documents come up. From those documents, see what terminology is being used by contemporaries.
Begin with basic searches and do not be too complicated. DO NOT USE TOO MANY TERMS AT ONCE
Be sure to use period-specific language.
Do NOT search a bunch of terms. This will give more, not less, false its.
Pick keywords carefully -- remember that words and their meaning change over time
Use the database limiting tools (publication date, place of publication, etc) to limit results. Do this instead of adding more search terms.
Use boolean (and or not) to make the best searches.

Primary Source Databases

Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange This link opens in a new window
Prior to the nineteenth century, much of what was known as the Far East remained closed to all but the most determined missionaries, traders, and sea captains. But in the nineteenth century the countries of these regions were confronted head-on by Western nations and forced into an expanding level of contactan opening that was fraught with domestic social unrest and foreign conflict, especially in China. Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Asia and the West illustrates the interaction between Asia and the West through a variety of rich source material, predominantly including US State Department consular and diplomatic records, British Foreign Office political correspondence, missionary correspondence and journals, and socio-economic journals.
China Art Library This link opens in a new window
China Art Digital Library provides a comprehensive collection of works from Chinese fine arts, calligraphy, and folk art from 3000 B.C. to the present day. China Art Digital Library includes over 780,000 art images from more than 400 albums, museum and exhibition catalogs, and includes references to nearly 720,000 supporting research documents available in China Academic Journals (CAJ) and China Doctoral Dissertations (CDMD). CNKI will continue to add new images as they become available from Chinese art exhibition catalogs and international Chinese exhibitions. At the same time, based on CNKI massive academic resources, the database offers a wealth of art information, including artists’ information, techniques, history background, and theory research. Navigation available in English; content primarily in Chinese.
China, America and the Pacific: Trade and Cultural Exchange This link opens in a new window
Explore an extensive range of archival material connected to the trading and cultural relationships that emerged between China, America and the Pacific region between the 18th and early 20th centuries. Manuscript sources, rare printed texts, visual images, objects and maps document this fascinating history.
China: Culture and Society This link opens in a new window
Spanning three centuries (c1750-1929), this resource makes available for the first time extremely rare pamphlets from Cornell University Librarys Charles W. Wason Collection on East Asia. The resource is full-text searchable, allowing for the collection to be comprehensively explored and studied.
China Studies This link opens in a new window
Cross-searchable access to primary sources spanning three centuries of history, literature, trade and the international affairs of China. From the 1800s to the modern era, this cross-searchable platform brings together three Adam Matthew Digital collections of rare printed books, pamphlets, manuscripts, diaries, newspapers and periodicals. These are supported by a range of incredible art works, illustrations and photographs.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980 This link opens in a new window
With documents encompassing events from the earliest English embassy to the birth and early years of the Peoples Republic, this resource collects sources from nine archives to give an incredible insight into the changes in China during this period.
Chinese Newspapers Collection This link opens in a new window
Travel back in time, during the turbulent 120 year period from 1832 to 1953, with 12 English-language Chinese historical newspapers providing critical perspectives and first-hand accounts on the ending of more than 2,000 years of imperial rule in China, the Taiping Rebellion, the Opium Wars with Great Britain, the Boxer Rebellion and the events leading up to the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, and the subsequent founding of the Republic of China. Coverage: 1832-1953
Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980 This link opens in a new window
Featuring diplomatic dispatches, letters, newspaper cuttings, political pamphlets, reports of court cases and other materials, this collection represents a constant exchange of information between London and the British embassies and consulates. Due to the unique nature of the relationship between Britain and China, these formerly restricted first-hand accounts provide unprecedented levels of detail into a turbulent period in Chinese history.
Newspapers.com (World Collection, 1690-) - Temporarily On-Campus Access Only This link opens in a new window
Newspapers.com is a historical database of newspapers across the globe, potentially going as far back as 1690 and up until the present day.
North China Daily News Online (1923-1941) This link opens in a new window
The North China Daily News(in Chinese: Zilin Xibao), was an English-language newspaper in Shanghai, China, called the most influential foreign newspaper of its time. Spanning the period 1923-1941 this is the prime printed source in any language for the history of the foreign presence in China, and with that the history of Shanghai, a city at the forefront of developments in Chinese politics, culture and the economy, and thus the hub of all Euro-American activity.
Political Relations and Conflict Between Republican China and Imperial Japan This link opens in a new window
The records of the U.S. State Department in this collection relate to political relations between China and Japan. The records are mostly instructions to and despatches from diplomatic and consular officials; the despatches are often accompanied by enclosures. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1930-1939.
South China Morning Post: Historical Newspapers 1903-2001 This link opens in a new window
South China Morning Post gives researchers new insights into Hong Kongs unique political and social history during the 20th century. This premier English-language title is known for its authoritative, influential, and independent reporting on all of Asia as well as its perspective of the rest of the world.
Far Eastern Economic Review Archive This link opens in a new window
More than 3,000 issues comprising the run of the renowned newsweekly, The Far Eastern Economic Review (1946-2009). Known for its authoritative reporting, this publication was devoted to many facets of the Asia-Pacific region, including politics, economics, international relations, and the arts/culture. Following an initial emphasis on China and Hong Kong, the scope of the magazines coverage subsequently expanded to encompass other regions and countries, including Japan, India and Australia, as well as smaller Asian states.
Tiananmen Square and U.S.-China Relations, 1989-1993 This link opens in a new window
The student demonstrations and their aftermath, including crackdowns on Chinese civil rights. Public mail, memoranda, reports, cables, meeting notes, news clippings, etc. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1989-1993.