Chinese Studies: Classical/Premodern Texts

A research guide for Chinese study materials at the University of Washington Libraries

Premodern Text Databases (with full-text search)

CHANT: Chinese Ancient Texts 漢達文庫 This link opens in a new window
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Ancient Chinese texts from the Pre-Han (pre 220AD) period up to the Six Dynasties (581 AD)
Chinese Classic Ancient Books 中國基本古籍庫 This link opens in a new window
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A large and diverse collection of texts in classical Chinese from the earliest historical periods to 1949.

Chinese Text Project 中國哲學書電子化計劃
An online open-access digital library of premodern Chinese texts. With over thirty thousand titles and more than five billion characters, it is the largest database of premodern Chinese texts. Provides English and Chinese interfaces and digital tools for textual analysis. For some texts, Chinese passages are matched with out-of-copyright English translations. A Wiki collection includes texts undergoing collaborative editing.
CUHK Library Chinese Rare Book Digital Collection 香港中文大学图书馆中国古籍库
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library (CUHK Library) collects about 1,100 titles of Chinese rare books and over 6,000 titles of Chinese semi-rare books. This collection is one of the major collections of its kind in Hong Kong. The Collection now covers more than 6,200 volumes of rare books with around a million of full-text images and the number is still growing.
Kanseki Repository 漢籍リポジトリ ("Kanripo" 漢リポ)
Open-source database providing searchable full-text editions of premodern texts, and a user community for documenting textual editions and correcting transcriptions. This site links to texts stored in a GitHub repository. Texts can be manipulated offline using the free Mandoku software. Created by Christian Wittern, Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University.
The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China 彤管: 中華帝國的女性書寫
A collection of texts by and about women writers, drawn from a wide range of writings from Imperial China. Texts are in Chinese, but the online interface is available in both English and Chinese. Hosted by Washington University in St. Louis.

Scripta Sinica (Academia Sinica) 中央研究院漢籍電子文獻資料庫 This link opens in a new window
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Provides a wide range of seminal classical Chinese texts, including classics, histories, philosophical and religious works, literary works, encyclopedias, and bibliographies. Transcribed (with original pagination) from authoritative premodern or modern editions, often including commentaries. Supports a variety of full-text search methods. From the landing page, click 授權使用 (authorized use) to access the full subscription version.

Shuwei Gujin tushu jicheng 數位古今圖書集成
Full-text searchable digital version of the large 18th century encyclopedia Gujin tushu jicheng.

Sibu Congkan 四部叢刊 This link opens in a new window
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Original and historical monographs published by the Commercial Press in 1919-1936. See User Guide
Wenyuange Siku Quanshu Wangshangban 文淵閣四庫全書網上版 This link opens in a new window
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Complete collection of the Qing Dynasty imperial library as “The Four Treasures”. See User Guide. Only one user may access it at a time. Please sign out when finished so another user may access the database. Installation of Husky OnNet is required for off-campus access.

Special Topics and Genres

China Local Gazetteer Database I & II (960-1949) 中國方志庫初集，二集 This link opens in a new window
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Local history and records of Chinese provinces, prefectures, counties, and other localities published from the Song Dynasty to the Republic Era (960-1949). Only one user may access it at a time.
Chinese Popular Literature 中国俗文库 This link opens in a new window
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A collection of "popular" narrative, performance, or proselytical texts dating from the Han to Republican periods (202 BCE - 1949 CE).

CUHK Library Chinese Medicine Texts Collection - 香港中文大学中医古典文库
In 2014, the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library received the donation of 2,485 scrolls of ancient Chinese Medicine readings, including 61 titles (182 scrolls) of rare books published around the Ming and Qing dynasties and 330 titles (1,049 scrolls) from the Qing dynasty and the Republican period. More than half of the collection has been digitized.
DaoBudMed6D: Daoist, Buddhist, and Medical Sources from the Six Dynasties
A collection of 3830 chapters of Buddhist, Daoist and medical writings, with full-text search and tools for textual analysis. The medical literature includes manuscripts from Mawangdui 馬王堆, Shuihudi 睡虎地, Wuwei 武威, and Zhoujiatai 周家臺. Created by Michael Stanley-Baker.
CUHK Library Daoist Texts Collection 香港中文大学道教经典文库
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library maintains a precious collection of more than twenty Daoist texts from the Qing Dynasty.
Ming shilu, Chaoxian wangchao shilu, Qing shilu ziliaoku 明實錄, 朝鮮王朝實錄, 清實錄資料庫 [The Ming Veritable Records, the Choson Dynasty Veritable Records, the Qing Veritable Records]
Database of three sets of "veritable records," contemporaneously compiled reign records. Jointly created by the Academia Sinica of Taiwan and Korea Committee for the Compilation of National History. Access using Husky OnNet.
Zhongguo shige ku 中国诗歌库 [Chinese Poetry Database]
Contains selections of premodern and modern poetry, theory, and criticism.

Buddhist Texts

BuddhaNexus
A database devoted to the study of Buddhist texts and literary corpora in Pāli, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese, with particular emphasis on evolution of scriptures, formation of canons, and intellectual networks. Includes analytical tools as well as searchable full texts.
CBETA 中華電子佛典
Searchable database of the Taishō Buddhist Canon and other supplementary Buddhist text collections. Includes reference tools. Available for online use or desktop download.
SAT Daizōkyō Text Database 大蔵経テキストデータベース
Full text of the 85 volumes of the Taishō Buddhist Canon (Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經, 1924-1932)

Digital Facsimile Collections (without full-text search)

Digital Archive of Rare Books 善本古籍數位典藏系統
Digital facsimiles of selected premodern rare editions from the collection of the National Taiwan Normal University Library 國立臺灣師範大學圖書館.
Guojia tushuguan guji yingxiang jiansuo xitong 國家圖書館古籍影像檢索系统 [National Central Library Rare Books Access System]
Provides digital facsimiles of premodern Chinese text editions from several international collections, including 382 titles (3483 volumes) from the University of Washington. UW Libraries and Taiwan's National Central Library completed digitization of these in 2012. Also provides detailed bibliographic records of additional works, including 286 from UW. Part of the NCL's 古籍與特藏文獻資源 [Rare Books and Special Collections Resources] database.
Harvard Digital Collections: Chinese Rare Books
Provides digital facsimiles of all 4,200 titles (53,000 stitch-bound volumes) of the Harvard-Yenching Library's Chinese Rare Book Collection.
Harvard Library Chinese Digitization Projects
Includes collections of rare books, baojuan, local gazetteers, and epigraphic rubbings in Chinese, and rare books in Manchu, Mongolian, and Naxi, among others.
HathiTrust
Collection of digital facsimiles of copyright-free books and other materials, among which are pre-1912 editions of Chinese works, including from UW's own collection. Click "Log In" in top right corner and select University of Washington; in Advanced Catalog Search, choose to filter results by Language. The UW catalog links to some texts, though searching directly in HathiTrust is more reliable. A larger selection of UW's own premodern Chinese editions is found in the Taiwan National Central Library Rare Books Access System.

TEAL Chinese rare books in HathiTrust 2020-04
A list of premodern Chinese rare books uploaded to HathiTrust.

Ming Qing Women's Writings 明清婦女著作
This is a database of writings by women in late imperial China (1368-1912), providing full facsimiles of collections published in the Ming (1368-1644), Qing (1644-1912) and Republican (1912-1949) periods. It can be searched by author, collection title, poetic form, region, time period, etc., in Chinese characters and Pinyin romanization; or browsed through indexes of facets such as ethnic group, marital status, reign period, and genre. It also provides links to writers' entries in the China Biographical Database hosted at Harvard University.

Nei ge da ku dang an 內閣大庫檔案 (Grand Secretariat Archives) This link opens in a new window
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Provides full-text facsimile images of documents originally stored at the Qing dynasty’s (1644-1912) Grand Secretariat, but now housed in Taipei at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica. The collection includes over 4,000 documents from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and over 300,000 from the Qing. They are valuable sources for the study of late imperial Chinese institutional, social, and economic history. Documents are searchable by metadata such as document title, creator’s name and office, date, and abstract; but not by full-text.

Sōkōdō Bunko zenbun eizō shiryōko 雙紅堂文庫全文影像資料庫 [Sokodo Bunko full-text facsimile database]
Digital facsimiles of premodern editions of Chinese fiction and drama works, from the collection of Tokyo University's Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (formerly translated as Institute of Oriental Culture). To enter the database, click on 檢索·書名一覽 in the center panel.
Tōkyō Daigaku Tōyō Bunka Kenkyūjo shozō kanseki zenpon zenbun eizō shiryōko 東京大學東洋文化研究所所藏漢籍善本全文影像資料庫 [Full-text facsimile database of rare Chinese books held by the Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo]
Provides digital facsimiles of almost four thousand Chinese language rare books held by Tokyo University's Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (formerly translated as Institute of Oriental Culture).

Manuscripts and Stele Inscriptions

CUHK Library Oracle Bones Collection 香港中文大学藏甲骨集
The database consists of two invaluable oracle bones collections of 44 pieces from the United College/CUHK Library and another 27 from the Art Museum.
International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online
This database indexes and in many cases provides downloadable digital facsimiles of the medieval texts, images, and artifacts discovered in Dunhuang in the early twentieth century, now housed in institutions worldwide. The database also includes early photographs taken at Dunhuang's Mogao Grottoes and other Silk Road historical sites.
Jinshi tapian ziliao 金石拓片資料 [Bronze and Stone Rubbing Database]
Provides facsimile images of over 7,000 bronze and stone inscriptions from the collection of Taiwan's National Central Library. Part of the NCL's 古籍與特藏文獻資源 [Rare Books and Special Collections Resources] database.

English Translations

Library of Chinese Humanities
This is a series of open-access translations, by leading scholars, of important premodern Chinese works. Translations appear alongside quality editions of original Chinese texts. Initially focuses on writings from China’s Middle Period (roughly 1st through 13th centuries CE), including works of poetry, fiction, philosophy, history, and religion. Published by De Gruyter.

Rare Book Catalogs

CALIS (China Academic Library & Information System) 中國高等教育數字圖書館 (a.k.a. Xueyuan jigu 學苑汲古)
Union catalog of the Chinese rare book collections of 27 Chinese and 3 North American academic libraries (including the University of Washington's Tateuchi East Asia Library).
CALIS Online Catalog (CALIS 联合目录公共检索系统)
Union catalog of the holdings of members of CALIS (China Academic and Information System), comprising numerous academic libraries in the People's Republic of China.
Chinese Ancient Books Union Catalogue and Evidence-Based Platform 中文古籍联合目录及循证平台
Union catalog of pre-1912 editions held by major public and university libraries throughout the PRC. Interface hosted by the Shanghai Library.
Guojia tushuguan guji lianhe mulu 國家圖書館古籍聯合目錄 [National Central Library Union Catalog of Rare Books]
Union catalog of major premodern Chinese book collections in Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Korea, North America, Europe, and Australia. Part of the 古籍與特藏文獻資源 [Rare Books and Special Collections Resources] database produced by Taiwan's National Central Library.
"Kanseki Database“ 全國漢籍データベース: 日本所藏中文古籍數據庫 [National Database of Chinese Texts: Japanese Holdings of Chinese Premodern Texts]
Union catalog of holdings of premodern Chinese texts in Japanese libraries. Most records are for post-1911 reprints of earlier editions, especially as found in multi-work collections (the database serves as a handy index to these), but some are for original pre-1912 editions.
Quanguo guji pucha dengji jiben shujuku 全國古籍普查登記基本數據庫 [Basic registration database for the national survey of premodern rare books]
Provides basic bibliographic metadata on premodern rare book editions held in Chinese libraries. Compiled by the China National Centre for the Preservation and Conservation of Ancient Books 国家古籍保护中心, National Library of China 中国国家图书馆.
Shanghai Library Ancient Books Catalogue 上海圖書館古籍目錄
Catalog of pre-1912 editions held by the Shanghai Library.

WorldCat This link opens in a new window
This catalog of the holdings of over 10,000 libraries worldwide includes records of many Chinese rare books, including those created for the International Union Catalog of Chinese Rare Books (see above).