Skip to main content
LibApps staff login

Chinese Studies

This guide serves as a guide to Chinese Studies.

Gudies to Reference Resources for Graduate Students

 

Introduction

This pathfinder serves as a guide to reference resources for Chinese classical literature. Chinese classical literature refers to various literary works written before the twentieth century, including drama, fiction, poetry, prose, and literary criticism. These references works should be helpful for graduate students and senior undergraduate students who are studying classical Chinese literature.

Forty-eight annotated reference sources on this topic are included, covering dictionaries, chronological biographies, chronologies, encyclopaedias, geographical sources, catalogues and bibliographies, and some electronic resources. Dictionaries are used for looking up characters, words and historical figures. A significant amount of information on primary sources can be found in encyclopaedias. Biographical and geographical sources are useful for locating persons and places in traditional literary works. Many books and articles are introduced as essential reference tools in catalogues and bibliographies. As to electronic resources, they provide convenient access to original texts and research articles.

字典 Dictionaries


1. Comprehensive Dictionaries


辞海

出版上海上海辞书出版社, 1999.

Ci hai

Publication: Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she, 1999.

PL1420 T9 1999

Many scholars consider this a modern encyclopaedic dictionary. There are 19,485 characters, under which are defined 122,835 compound words and phrases. Its phrases provide encyclopaedic information on figures, works, historical events, places, organizations, technology, etc. The work is arranged by 250 radicals. There is an index by Pinyin.

 

辭源

出版北京商務印書館新華書店北京發行所發, 1983.

Ci yuan

Publication: Beijing: Shang wu yin shu guan: Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing, 1983.

PL1420 T95 1998

In this revised version, editors have deleted phrases related to modern natural science, social science and technology. They emphasize, like the original version published in 1915, that it is a classical phrase dictionary. The 2 volumes contain 11,204 characters and 87,790 compound words. Although it is less comprehensive than some dictionaries, its updated entries, historical information and economic price make it useful for research.

 

大漢和辭典

著者諸橋徹次

出版東京大修舘書店, 1990-2000.

Dai Kan-Wa jiten

Author: Morohashi, Tetsuji

Publication: Tōkyō: Taishukanō Shoten, 1990-2000.

PL677.5 M67 1990

It is one of the most essential dictionaries of classical and literary Chinese. In addition to carrying a considerable number of characters and literary quotations, it also provides a great deal of encyclopaedic information for Chinese research, including names of foreign people and places, titles, places, Buddhist terms, etc.

 

汉语大词典

著者主编罗竹风 汉语大词典编辑委汉语大词典编纂处编纂

出版香港三聯書店香港分店上海上海辭書出版社, 1987-.

Han yu da ci dian

Author: Luo, Zhufeng; Han yu da ci dian bian ji wei yuan hui; Han yu da ci dian bian zuan chu bian zuan

Publication: Han yu da ci dian. Xianggang: San lian shu dian Xianggang fen dian; Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she, 1987-.

PL1420 H262 1987

The focus of this dictionary is the words in various written Chinese literary works from the earliest times to the present day. More than 300 leading Chinese scholars and experts contributed to this large dictionary. As a leading dictionary on Chinese, it almost satisfies all the criteria for a good dictionary: comprehensive, updated, well-indexed and accurate. It is an indispensable reference work for scholars and students of Chinese literature.

 

漢語大字典

出版武漢湖北辭書出版社成都四川辭書出版社, 1986-1990.

Han yu da zi dian

Publication: Wuhan: Hubei ci shu chu ban she; Chengdu: Sichuan ci shu chu ban she, 1986-1990.

PL1420 H26 1986

This is the largest Chinese character dictionary including explanations of forms, sounds and meanings of about 56,000 characters. Most entries consist of a character, illustration of forms, pronunciations, definitions and citations. This eight-volume dictionary is arranged by 200 radicals. Its index is by stroke count.

 

康熙字典

著者張玉書等編王引之康熙字典考證

出版台北世界書局民國51 [1962].

Kangxi zi dian

Author: Zhang, Yushu et al., comp.; Wang, Yinzhi; Kangxi zi dian kao zheng

Publication: Taibei: Shi jie shu ju, 1962.

PL1420 C45

This is a dictionary accomplished in 1716 by scholars of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). It contains a total of 47,035 characters, out of which there are many rare or dead characters and graphic variants. All characters are arranged by 214 radicals. The dictionary is divided into 12 volumes and each volume includes 3 scrolls.

 

說文解字

著者許慎

出版北京中华书局, 1963.

Shuo wen jie zi

Author: Xu, Shen

Publication: Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1963.

PL1281 H8 1963

As the earliest comprehensive dictionary, it includes 9,353 regular characters and 1,163 graphic variants. All the characters are first systematically grouped with 540 radicals. Under each radical, characters are further arranged by their meaning. Through analyzing characters’ basic forms drawn from oracle bone and Zhou (1100 B.C.-256 B.C.) bronze inscriptions, the compiler emphasizes the original meaning of characters.

 

中文大辭典

著者中文大辭典編纂委員會編纂監修張其昀主纂林尹高明

出版陽明山中國文化研究所臺北市聯合出版服務中心總經售民國51-57 [1962-1968].

Zhong wen da ci dian

Author: Zhong wen da ci dian bian zuan wei yuan hui; Zhang, Qiyun; Lin, Yin; Gao, Ming.

Publication: Yangming shan: Zhongguo wen hua yan jiu suo; Taibei: Lian he chu ban fu wu zhong xin zong jing shou, 1962-1968.

PL1420 C57

Up to 49,888 characters and 371,231 compound words are included in this dictionary. Its complete text contains more than 60,000,000 characters. In addition to 38 volumes of content, there are 2 volumes of indexes. All the characters are arranged by 214 radicals. Its index is by stroke count.

 

2. Biographical Dictionaries

a. In Chinese

 

歷代名人年里碑傳總表

著者姜亮夫

出版臺北臺灣商務印書館民國54 [1965].

Li dai ming ren nian li bei zhuan zong biao

Author: Jiang, Liangfu

Publication: Taibei: Taiwan Shang wu yin shu guan, 1965.

DS734 C48 1965.

It contains the dates of death and birth of some 12,000 historical persons who lived between antiquity and 1919. According to chronological order, the table lists each person’s name, age, native place, dates, and biographical sources. There is a surname index and a four-corner index arranged by stroke count.

 

歷代名人生卒年表

著者梁廷燦,  歷代名人生卒年表陶容于世雄,  歷代名人生卒年表補

出版北京北京圖書館出版社, 2002.

Li dai ming ren sheng zu nian biao

Author: Liang, Tingcan; Li dai ming ren sheng zu nian biao; Tao, Rong; Yu, Shixiong; Li dai ming ren sheng zu nian biao bu

Publication: Beijing: Beijing tu shu guan chu ban she, 2002.

DS734 L514 2002

Both Li dai ming ren sheng zu nian biao歷代名人生卒年表and Li dai ming ren sheng zu nian biao pu歷代名人生卒年表 are contained in this work. More than 8,400 historical personages from the time of Confucius (770 B.C.-476 B.C.) to 1911 are listed. It is convenient for users to check dates of death and birth, native places, and alternative names.

 

歷代名人室名別號辭典:

著者池秀云

出版太原山西古籍出版社, 1998.

Li dai ming ren shi ming bie hao ci dian.

Author: Chi, Xiuyun

Publication: Taiyuan: Shanxi gu ji chu ban she, 1998.

Z1087 C6 C55 1998

Included in this dictionary are 13,796 historical persons indexed by their studio and alternative names from antiquity to 1840. Each entry introduces the person’s name, native place, dates of death and birth, writings, and chief activities. A name index is arranged by stroke count.

 

唐五代人物傳記資料綜合索引

著者傅璇琮張忱石許逸民

出版北京中華書局新華書店北京發行所發行, 1982.

Tang Wu dai ren wu zhuan ji zi liao zong he suo yin

Author: Fu, Xuancong; Zhang, Chenshi; Xu, Yimin

Publication: Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju:  Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing, 1982.

DS749.3 F8 1982

This index refers to 83 historical biographies and includes some 30,000 historical figures of the Tang dynasty (618-907) and the Five Dynasties (907-960). Under each entry, both name and biographical sources of a historical figure are provided.  Table is indexed by the four-corner system. It is an important and accurate index for research on historical persons during this period.

 

中国历代人名大辞典

著者张撝之沈起炜刘德重主编

出版上海上海古籍出版社新華書店上海发行所发行, 1999.

Zhongguo li dai ren ming da ci dian

Author: Zhang, Huizhi; Shen, Qiwei; Liu Dezhong

Publication: Shanghai: Shanghai gu ji chu ban she: Xin hua shu dian Shanghai fa xing suo fa xing, 1999.

DS734 Z5656 1999

This dictionary summarizes and indexes about 54,500 historical figures recorded in various historical documents written before 1911. Compared with Zhongguo ren ming da ci dian中國人名大辭典, its entries include sources and dates of birth and death.

 

中國人名大辭典

著者臧勵龢等編

出版上海商務印書館民國23 [1934].

Zhongguo ren ming da ci dian

Author: Zang, Lihe et al.

Publication: Shanghai: Shang wu yin shu guan, 1934.

DS734 S43 1934

It covers more than 40,000 historical figures from legendary time to the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). In addition to alternative names, official titles and posthumous titles, a brief biographical description is also provided for each figure. Sources and dates of birth and death are not included however. The arrangement is by stroke count.

 

中国人名异称大辞典

著者尚恒元孙安邦主编

出版太原山西人民出版社, 2002.

Zhongguo ren ming yi cheng da ci dian

Author: Shang, Hengyuan; Sun, Anbang

Taiyuan: Shanxi ren min chu ban she, 2002.

DS734 Z47 2002

This two-volume dictionary collects some 10,000 alternative names for 50,000 historical figures. Besides various alternative names, each entry also provides brief biographical information and sources. There are detailed surname and alternative name indexes arranged by stroke count in the second volume.

 

中國文學家大辭典

出版北京中华书局新华书店北京发行所发行, 1992-.

Zhongguo wen xue jia da ci dian

Publication: Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju:  Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing, 1992-.

PL2277 C595 1992

This is one of the most valuable biographical dictionaries specifically on Chinese literati. According to chronological arrangement, it contains more than 6,000 literary figures from the Spring and Autumn period (770 B.C.-476 B.C.) to about 1930. For each figure, all alternative name, nickname, dates of death and birth, native place, chief activities, disposition, and important writings are covered. There is a name index arranged by stroke-count.

 

b. In English

 

Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368-1644

Author: Goodrich, L. Carrington; Fang, Zhaoying

Corp Author: Association for Asian Studies, Ming Biographical History Project Committee

Publication: New York: Columbia University Press, 1976.

DS753.5 A84 1976

About 659 biographies from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) are included in the dictionary. Under each entry, a useful bibliographic note is attached. It also contains maps and illustrations. There are name, book title, and subject indexes in the second volume.

 

Eminent Chinese of the Ch’ing period (1644-1912)

Author: Hummel, Arthur William

Publication: Taipei: Ch’eng Wen Pub. Co., 1970.

DS734 U65 1970

This work introduces biographies of some 800 leading personalities active in the Qing dynasty&

年谱 Chronological Biographies

歷代名人年譜總目

著者: 王寶先

出版: 台北縣永和鎮: 文海出版社, 民國69 [1980].

Li dai ming ren nian pu zong mu

Author: Wang, Baoxian

Publication: Taibei Xian Yonghe Zhen: Wen hai chu ban she, 1980.

DS757 S482 v.750

Besides chronological biographies, this title also includes some important diaries, memoirs, and biographies in separate edition, etc. It contains1,208 historical persons and 1,934 authors. All entries are arranged by the chronological order of these historical persons. In each entry, a historical person’s name, alternative names, native place, and dates of birth and death follow the information on his chronological biographies. Both name index and alternative name index are arranged by stroke count. 

 

中國歷代名年譜總目

著者: 王德毅

出版: 台北市: 華世出版社, 民國68 [1979].

Zhongguo li dai ming ren nian pu zong mu

Author: Wang, Deyi

Publication: Taibei: Hua shi chu ban she, 1979.

DS734 W32

In this work, 1,715 historical figures are listed in chronological order of their birth dates. For each figure, not only does it provide the detailed information of chronological biographies, it also gives name, dates of birth and death, alternative name(s), native place, and dynasty.

 

中国历代人物年谱考录

著者: 谢巍

出版: 北京: 中华书局: 新华书店北京发行所发行, 1992.

Zhongguo li dai ren wu nian pu kao lu

Author: Xie, Wei

Publication: Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju: Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing, 1992.

DS734 H754 1992

This chronological biography is one of the best catalogs of Chinese chronological biographies at present. Biographical information is on over 4,000 famous historical figures who lived from antiquity to the end of Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Annotations on more than 6,000 chronological biographies are included. The two indexes are historical persons and authors, and they are arranged by pinyin

年历Chronologies

中國年曆總譜

著者: 董作賓

出版: 香港香港大學出版社, 1960.

Zhongguo nian li zong pu

Author: Dong, Zuobin

Publication: Xianggang: Xianggang da xue chu ban she, 1960.

DS733 T8

This work is a useful tool for finding Chinese dynastic and cyclical dates and their concordance in the Western and Moslem Calendars. Its 2 volumes cover a period of 4,674 years from 2674 B.C. to A.D. 2000, and include 19 useful appendices. There is an index arranged by stroke count and an index arranged by the alphabetical order of Wade-Gile romanization in the second volume.    

 

新编中国三千年历日检索表

著者: 徐锡祺

出版: 北京: 人民教育出版社: 新华书店总店科技发行所发行,  1992.

Xin bian Zhongguo san qian nian li ri jian suo biao

Author: Xu, Xiqi

Publication: Beijing: Ren min jiao yu chu ban she: Xin hua shu dian zong dian ke ji fa xing suo fa xing, 1992.

CE15 H785 1992

This book mainly consists of 3 sections. The first section has search tables for Chinese calendar days from 1500 B.C. to A.D. 2050, in which calendrical concordance of Western and Moslem days are given. The second section has chronological tables for different kingdoms and states. Many detailed and valuable referential materials are provided in the third section. The indexes of era and reign names are arranged by stroke count, four-corner, and pinyin, respectively.

 

中國歷代帝王譜系彙編

著者: 賈虎臣

出版: 臺北市: 正中書局, 民國55 [1966]. 

Zhongguo li dai di wang pu xi hui bian

Author: Jia, Huchen

Publication: Taibei: Zheng zhong shu ju, 1966.

DS734 C46

Its chronological tables contain information on 424 emperors from Huangdi of legendary time (2600 B.C-2200 B.C.) to Emperor Xuantong of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). It is divided into 3 sections: the descent lines of legitimate emperors; the descent lines of illegitimate emperors; the descent lines of emperors who usurped the thrones. For every emperor, the editor gives his era names, regnal periods and their corresponding western dates, biographical information and its sources, alternative names, capital, etc. There is an index of emperors’ titles by chronological order and an index of names of reign periods by stroke count. 

百科全书 Encyclopaedias

古今圖書集成 [10000, 目錄40]

著者: 陳夢雷編撰; 蔣廷錫校訂

出版:上海: 中華書局, 民國23 [1934].

Gu jin tu shu ji cheng [10000 juan, mu lu 40 juan]

Author: Chen, Menglei; Jiang, Tingxi

Publication: Shanghai: Zhonghua shu ju, 1934.

PL2452 K8

This is the largest extant traditional encyclopaedia. It is divided into 6 main categories, 32 sections, and 6,117 subsections. It numbers 170,000,000 characters and has more than 10,000 illustrations. About 6,000 works are quoted for the compilation of this encyclopaedia. For each subsection, sources ranging from the Zhou dynasty (1100 B.C.-256 B.C.) to the 17th century are arranged under 8 different headings, including orthodox writings, biographies, literary works, etc.

Internet Link: http://140.109.8.44/gjts/index.htm

In its online version, users can use basic search or advanced search to locate information they need. It is produced by the Dongwu University and the Imperial Palace Museum. Both of them are famous for academic research on classical Chinese works.  After entering keywords combined with boolean operators as well as choosing certain sections and subsections, all passages having the search keywords can be found.

 

太平禦覽 [1000]

著者: 李昉

出版: 北京: 中華書局:  新華書店北京發行所发行, 1963.

Tai ping yu lan [1000 juan]

Author: Li, Fang et al.

Publication: Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju: Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing, 1963.

AE17 T3

This large-scale traditional encyclopaedia was compiled by 13 scholars of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It has 1,000 scrolls, 55 sections, 5,363 categories, and 63 sub-categories. Quotations are drawn from 2,579 ancient works of various genres. More than 70 percent of these works have been lost. The total number of its characters is about 4,784,000. It is especially important for the Tang (618-907) and the Five dynasties (907-960) history and literature.

 

藝文類聚 [100]

著者: 歐陽詢

出版: 上海: 中華書局出版: 新華書店上海發行所發行, 1965.

Yi wen lei ju [100 juan]

Author: Ouyang, Xun

Publication: Shanghai: Zhong hua shu ju chu ban: Xin hua shu dian Shanghai fa xing suo fa xing, 1965.

AE2 O8

This is the earliest government-sponsored encyclopaedia on literature.  It is divided into 47 sections and 727 subsections. Under each entry in a section, there are factual extracts as well as passages quoted from a variety of genres. Factual extracts often come from the classics, standard histories, and philosophical works. It quotes from more than 1,400 ancient works, most of which had been lost. Sources are cited for each quotation. Because it has preserved many literary works that were lost in later dynasties, it is an important source for researchers.  

地理资料 Geographical Sources

A. Atlas

 

Cultural Atlas of China

Author: Blunden, Caroline.; Elvin, Mark

Publication: New York: Checkmark Books, 1998.

DS721 B56 1998

This atlas provides readers with thematic maps, outstanding photographs and fascinating essays. There is a full coverage of the history, geography and civilization of China. It is highly recommended by Los Angeles Herald Examiner as: “One of the handsomest, most original and usable reference works to date.” The Library Journal regards it as “a treasure trove of information, sights, and insights.” It is an innovative way of presenting history and culture using maps.

 

 

中國歷史地圖集

著者: 谭其骧主编

出版: 北京: 地图出版社; 上海: 新华书店上海发行所发行, 1982-1987.

Zhongguo li shi di tu ji

Author: Tan, Qixiang

Publication: Beijing: Di tu chu ban she; Shanghai: Xin hua shu dian Shanghai fa xing suo fa xing, 1982-1987.

G2306 S1 Z55 1982

This eight-volume work is one the most accurate and authoritative Chinese historical maps present. It greatly reflects the accomplishment of the study of Chinese historical atlases. It coverage begins with antiquity and ends with the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). It contains more than 300 maps and 70,000 places. In addition to the territories governed by emperors, the areas governed by minority authorities are also included.

 

 

B. Geographical Dictionaries

 

中國歷史地名大辭典

著者: 劉鈞仁原著; 塩英哲編著

出版: 東京: 凌雲書房, 1980.

Chūgoku rekishi chimei daijiten

Author: Liu, Chün-jen; Shio, Hideaki

Publication: Tōkyō: Ryōun Shobō, 1980.

DS705 L5 1980

About 120,000 historical place names and their subsequent history are included in this six-volume dictionary. Besides big cities and provinces, this work also introduces small town, brook, pass, fortress, and village. The whole work is arranged by 207 radicals. There is an index of the first character of place names by pinyin.

 

 

中國古今地名大辭典

著者: 臧勵龢等編

出版: 上海: 商務印書館, 民國22 [1933].

Zhongguo gu jin di ming da ci dian

Author: Zang, Lihe et al.

Publication: Shanghai: Shang wu yin shu guan, 1933.

DS705 C53 1933a 

The work contains 40,000 historical place names from the earliest time up to 1911, including prefectures, cities, rivers, mountains, towns, villages, etc. Each entry gives original name, location, boundary, period of foundation, and subsequent history. Historical documents are often quoted by entries. The whole book is arranged by stroke count. There is a four-corner index.

 

C. Local Gazetteers 

 

中國地方誌聯合目錄

著者: 中國科學院北京天文臺主編 ; 總編莊威鳳, 朱士嘉, 馮寶琳 ; 編輯王素萍

出版: 北京: 中華書局: 新華書店北京發行所發行, 1985.

Zhongguo di fang zhi lian he mu lu

Author: Zhongguo ke xue yuan Beijing tian wen tai zhu bian; Zhuang, Weifeng; Zhu, Shijia; Feng, Baolin; Wang Suping … et al.

Publication: Zhonghua shu ju: Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing, 1985.

Z3106 C5927 1985

This catalogue is a union catalogue of gazetteers. As it uses Zhongguo de fang zhi zong lu國地方誌綜錄as its chief source, its notes have similar items: book title, number of scrolls, compilers, versions, which of the 191 Chinese libraries holds each of these works, and remark. Among more than 8,200 local gazetteers it includes, there are gazetteers of provinces, prefectures, sub-prefectures, counties, market towns, garrisons, islands, etc. It has a book title index arranged by the four-corner system.

 

中國地方誌綜錄

著者: 朱士嘉

出版: 上海: 商務印書館: 新華書店總經售, 1958.

Zhongguo di fang zhi zong lu

Author: Zhu, Shijia

Publication: Shanghai: Shang wu yin shu guan: Xin hua shu dian zong jing shou, 1958.

Z3107 A2 C45

This catalogue lists 7,413 local gazetteers containing a total of 109,143 scrolls, which covers holdings in 41 Chinese libraries.  It is convenient for readers to find extant gazetteers for certain province or county quickly. There are 2 appendices which give catalogues of rare local gazetteers held in Taiwan and the United States respectively. Both book title index and name index are arranged by stroke count.

 

中國地方誌總目提要:

著者: 主編金恩輝, 胡述兆

出版: 台北市:  漢美圖書有限公司, 1996.

Zhongguo di fang zhi zong mu ti yao

Author: Jin, Enhui; Hu, Shuzhao

Publication: Taibei: Han mei tu shu you xian gong si, 1996.

DS705 C585 1996

Based on Zhongguo di fang zhi lian he mu lu中國地方誌聯合目錄, this work lists 13,685 authors and 8,577 local gazetteers written before December 1949. At the beginning of each province’s gazetteers, a comprehensive review is provided.  Annotations give a brief biographical sketch of compilers, dates of compiling, summary, evaluation, etc. 

目录及文献 Catalogues and Bibliographies

A. In Chinese

 

四庫全書總目提要 [200]

著者: 紀昀; 永容

出版: 上海: 商務印書館, 民國20 [1931].

Si ku quan shu zong mu ti yao [200 juan]

Author: Ji, Yun; Yong, Rong

Publication: Shanghai : Shang wu yin shu guan, 1931.

AC149 S73 C47 1931

This catalogue is one of the largest and the most important catalogues in history. It includes an annotated catalog of 3,461 works and brief notes on the 6,793 books listed by title. The compilers have adopted the traditional four branches classification (classics, history, philosophers, belles-lettres). In addition to information on the nature and content of works, its annotations also provide evaluations, and brief biographical sketches on authors. 

 

中国丛书综录

著者: 上海圖書館

出版: 北京: 中華書局, 1959-62.

Zhongguo cong shu zong lu

Author: Shanghai tu shu guan

Publication: Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1959-1962.

Z1033 S5 S48

As an indispensable index to collectanea, it contains up to 2,787 collectanea and some 40,000 individual works collected in 41 Chinese libraries. It has 3 volumes. The first volume gives the titles of individual works contained in each collectanea. An appendix shows which of the 41 libraries holds each of the collectanea. The second volume lists individual works by title, introducing their authors, number of scrolls, and in which collectanea they are included. There is a book title index of collectanea in the first volume. The third volume has a book title index and an author title index of individual works. All the indexes are arranged by the four-corner system.

 

中国文史工具资料书举要

著者: 吴小如. 吴同宾

出版: 天津市: 天津古籍出版社, 2002.

Zhongguo wen shi gong ju zi liao shu ju yao.

Wu, Xiaoru; Wu, Tongbin.

Tianjin Shi: Tianjin gu ji chu ban she, 2002.

Z3106 W8523 2002

This is a guide written especially for students of Chinese literature and history. There are 10 sections in this work. The first section concerns reference works in a broad sense. The second section deals with various methods of looking up words. The following 8 sections are about reference works on dictionary, name, place, chronology, linguistics, literary words, encyclopaedia, government documents, catalog and index.

 

中文参考书指南

著者: 何多源編

出版: 上海: 上海書店, 1989.

Zhong wen can kao shu zhi nan

Author: He, Duoyuan

Publication: Shanghai: Shanghai shu dian, 1989.

AC149 M5478 1989 v.100

The work is divided into 2 sections, including 23 chapters and annotations of 2,081 Chinese reference works. The first section introduces general reference works, such as dictionary, encyclopaedia, bibliography, index, etc. The second section focuses on academic reference works, referring to studies on the classics, philosophy, linguistics, literature, biography, history, etc. There is a combined index of book title, author and category arranged by stroke count. Because it was published in 1939, some books are out of date.

 

B. In English

 

Chinese History: A Manual

Author(s): Wilkinson, Endymion Porter

Publication: Cambridge, Mass.: Published by the Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute: Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2000.

DS735 W695 2000

This is not only an indispensable guide to researching the history of China, but also a valuable tool for Chinese literature. The five parts of the manual are divided into 51 chapters, including basic knowledge, sources for the pre-Qin (2100 B.C.-221 B.C.), historical writing and compilation, primary sources, and research tools. The revised edition concerns about 4,200 primary, secondary, and reference works. About 1,300 titles and 1,500 technical terms have been added over the first edition.

 

The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature

Author: Nienhauser, William H.

Publication: Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986.

PL2264 I55 1986

 

The Indiana companion to traditional Chinese literature, volume 2

Author: Nienhauser, William H; Hartman, Charles,

Publication: Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998.

PL2264 I55 1998

This important two-volume reference work summarizes the current state of knowledge about traditional Chinese literature in English. It involves the work of almost two hundred international contributors. Not only does it have informative survey essays of about 10,000 words each on various literature genres, such as drama, fiction, literary criticism, poetry and prose, it also has over 500 entries of approximately 1,500 words each on famous writers, works, styles, movements, etc. Major primary and secondary sources are listed at the end of each entry. 

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.