Subject Guides: Primary Sources: East Asia

East Asia Primary Sources

World Digital Library
Thousands of scanned cultural heritage documents from around the world hosted by the Library of Congress. 1000s - present.
e-Asia Digital Library
Digitized ebooks and sources collected by the University of Oregon Libraries. 1720s - 2010s.
East Asia Image Collection
Open-access archive of digitized photographs, negatives, postcards, rare books and slides crated by Lafayette College. Primarily focused on the Japanese Empire. 1860s-1950s.
Wilson Center Digital Archive
Declassified historical materials from archives around the world, including diplomatic cables, high level correspondence, meeting minutes, intelligence estimates, and more. 1940s-1990s.
East Asia Primary Sources
Extensive links to online collections of primary and secondary sources for Asian history curated by the University of Washington Libraries. Links with a grey lock symbol next to them are not available. Mostly mid-1800s - present.
East Asia History Sourcebook
Links to free online primary and secondary sources for East Asian history curated by Fordham University. WARNING: this site is not well-maintained; many links are broken.

Chinese Digital Archive 1966-1976
Images of photographs and manuscripts. Items in Chinese are not translated. From the Australian National University Open Library. 1966-1976.
Cultural Revolution Posters
Images of Chinese propaganda posters from the Cultural Revolution. Hosted by UC San Diego, 1966-1976.
Chinese Pamphlets
Mass education materials published in Hong Kong and in Mainland China including cartoon books, pamphlets, postcards, and magazines. From the Center for Research Libraries. 1947-1954.
Historical Photographs of China
Photographs taken by members of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, the Shanghai Municipal Police, or the British Army in China collected by the University of Bristol. 1850s - 1940s.
Late Qing and Republican-Era Chinese Newspapers
Scans of articles from 290 publications across more than twenty Chinese mainland cities. 1911-1949
Qingming Shanghe Tu Scroll
High resolution image of the handscroll painting by Zhang Zeduan. From Columbia University's Asia for Educators project. 1085-1145?
Ming Shi-lu
English translations of annals describing the reigns of emperors of Ming China. From the National University of Singapore. 1368-1644
Ling long
Digitized issues of Shanghai women's magazine Ling long. From Columbia University. 1931 - 1937.

National Archives of Japan Digital Archive
Cultural heritage items including digitized manuscripts and maps from the National Archives of Japan.
Birth of the Constitution of Japan
Documents and commentary relating to the formation of the Japanese Constitution. National Diet Library. 1943-1947.
Japan Search
Search digital archive collections across Japan. Operated by the National Diet Library.
Bakumatsu-Meiji Era Photographs
High resolution images of photographs. Nagasaki University. 1853-1912.
Japanese Historical Maps
High resolution historical maps from UC Berkeley. Use the LUNA browser option to view. 1600s - 1900s.