Databases: Asia: Asia Databases

A varied array of records of traders, travellers, missionaries and diplomats, from the mid-seventeenth century to the late twentieth century, offering Western perspectives on all aspects of Chinese culture and society and Western interactions with China and Southeast Asia.

A wide range of sources, by writers, diplomats, tourists, businessmen, missionaries and others, documenting the political, cultural and social history of Japan from 1400 to the 20th century.

Kikuzo II Visual (朝日新聞オンライン記事データべース) is one of the largest newspaper article databases in Japan, with over eight million articles from over 130 years of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. The database also includes Who's Who and Historical Photo Archives.

Citations to scholarly journal articles and monographs relating to all areas of Asia. Western-language materials. Entries may be browsed by journal title and country of relevance.

The main focus of this encyclopedia is China from the mid-19th century to the 21st century. It contains the information on the history, geography, society, economy, politics, science, and culture of China.

Tracks capacity building in India for over 50,000 projects from from 1995 to the present. Tracks the complete life cycle of projects from announcement through implementation and final closure, including abandonment of projects. Users must register and create a password.

Digital access to official British government records relating to the region, from the decline of the Silk Road, through the diplomatic confrontation between the British and Russian Empires known as the “Great Game”, to the influence of the emergent Soviet Union in the 20th century.

More than 8,200 Chinese journal titles and nearly 1000 Chinese newspaper titles. Use Chinese simplified characters to search. Note: Please use IE browser.

With an archive beginning in 2000, this database collects full-text articles from more than 350 core newspapers in China. GW's subscription includes the following subject areas: Literature/History/Philosophy, Politics/Military Affairs/Law, Education & Social Sciences, Economics & Management. IE browser is recommended.

Access to current statistical data on a variety of economic and demographic aspects of China. Includes monthly and annual reports on economic development, as well as data from various industries, information on specific companies, statistical yearbooks for China as a whole and from various regions, and a range of census-related information.

The database contains white papers "pi shu" written by key think tanks and academic institutions in China. Pi shu address a comprehensive breadth of issues surrounding the development and governance of modern day China including trade, the environment, military development, and economic growth. The contents of the database fall into the following thematic categories: China Society and Culture; China Economic Development; China Regional Analysis (Provincial, Municipal, and Hong Kong/Macao/Taiwan); China Industrial Sectors; Global Economy, Politics, Security. All pi shu volumes are aggregated from 1996 to present as a full-text, full-image database.

China Geo Explorer is a spatial intelligence data service. It offers Chinese demographic and economic data, maps, charts and reports in a web-based delivery system. With this spatial intelligence, users are able to make rapid, accurate spatial decisions with greater confidence for regional planning, business investment, population, housing, environmental assessment, public health and many other spatial applications. Data sources in this database includes demographic and business information for all PRC geographic areas, including 31 Provinces, 345 Prefecture Cities, 2,873 Counties, and over 50,000 Townships.

ChinaMaxx contains full-text Chinese e-books from cover to cover on the subject areas of China economy, politics, military affairs, international relations, security and social studies.

China Proceedings of Conference Full-text Database collects proceedings of domestic and international conferences sponsored by societies, associations, universities and institutions, and governments of the first and second levels in China.

A full-text searchable database consisting of 847 titles with 5740 volumes of statistical yearbooks published in China. Database features include keyword data search, data analysis, and browse by category and title. In English & Chinese. Please use MS Edge for viewing in English.

Comprehensive documentation examines the political background of the civil war, the failed efforts of American mediation, and the ramifications of Communist victory.

Original documents including CCP notices, instructions, proclamations, speeches and major media commentaries.

This is an important primary source for scholars of twentieth-century China. The Chinese Literature and History database 中国文史资料集粹 contains full texts of more than 20,000 volumes (650,000 articles) of publications arranged by regions and provinces. The articles are mostly first-person narratives on history, culture, politics, economy, literature and ethnicity among other themes.

Full-text, keyword searchable PDF's of this major Korean newspaper from 1920 to the present

Scholarly and Academic Information Navigator, CiNii (pronounced like "sigh-knee"), enables searching of information on academic articles published in academic journals, university research bulletins, or articles included in the National Diet Library's Japanese Periodicals Index Database. Access to full text documents is possible with 3.2 million of the 12 million articles currently available.

Access to scholarly materials related to international affairs, including working papers, conference proceedings, journal articles, case studies, and other resources.

Commonwealth Magazine is a storehouse of information on Taiwan's economic development and the transformation of its society. This electronic journal includes over 310 issues, from the first issue in 1981 through the current issue.

This series consists of reports, studies, and surveys on various topics of interest to the Department of State. The reports vary from short memorandums to detailed, documented studies. The topics range from individual commodities or countries to the economic and political characteristics of whole regions. This collection consists of research and intelligence reports prepared during 1941-1947 on Korea.

This database covers over ten thousand periodicals of 200 kinds established and participated in by Chinese Communist Party before 1949.

Consists of approximately 7,000 Chinese periodicals published from 1830 to 1949 in all fields of knowledge as well as popular journals. A unique and valuable source for the studies of Chinese politics, history, culture, society, philosophy, literature and arts in that period.

A database of excavation reports and full-text articles in history, archeology, anthropology, literature and folklore, in 3,000 volumes from 76 organizations.

This database includes archives and publications of the Chinese central government, its ministries and subsidiaries, and regional authorities. Simultaneous Users: 2

The CPPCC Database is a collection of archives and documents of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), including: Resolutions and Statements, Pictures, Press Conferences, Important Commentaries, Representatives Lists, Agendas, Session Updates, Reports, Leaders' Activities, Selected Proposals and Suggestions from Representatives, News Reports, Video Reports, etc. Simultaneous Users: 2

This database contains archives and publications of the Communist Party since its establishment in 1921.

NPC Database is a collection of reports, primarily by People's Daily and People's Daily Online, on National People's Congress, from the 1st Session of 1st NPC to the 3rd Session of the 10th NPC. Simultaneous Users: 2

A compilation of Buddhist terms, texts, temple, schools, persons, etc. found in Buddhist canonical sources. Mostly intended for professional researchers, but also accessible to beginners and casual users.

Full-text, keyword searchable PDF's of this major Korean newspaper from 1920 to the present

Provides information about and, in many cases, full-text searching and / or limited views (up to about 20 pages) of 2,600,000 Chinese books. A useful tool for discovering bibliographic information; for locating particular search terms within a text; and for getting a preview of a text. Works best on Internet Explorer.

Unique collection of India Office Records from the British Library, London. Containing royal charters, correspondence, trading diaries, minutes of council meetings and reports of expeditions, among other document types, this resource charts the history of British trade and rule in the Indian subcontinent and beyond from 1599 to 1947.

Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism presents the latest research on all the main aspects of the Hindu traditions. Users accessing this title should use the GW VPN.

Provides access to approximately 2,000 hours of previously unpublished historic audio recordings from field expeditions around the world, and their supporting field materials. The collection is primarily from the 1960s through the 1980s—the dawn of ethnomusicology as a codified discipline.

The Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) was a United States government operation which translated the text of daily broadcasts, government statements, and select news stories from non-English sources. Succeeded by World News Connection after 1996; scope of coverage may be significantly different.

Formerly restricted British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980. Features diplomatic dispatches, letters, newspaper cuttings, political pamphlets, reports of court cases and other materials that provide insight into a turbulent period in Chinese history. The documents allow students and researchers intimate access to eye-witness accounts, weekly and monthly summaries, annual reviews, reports and analyses, economic assessments, synopses on Chinese personalities, and more.

Digital collection of British Foreign Office documents from the National Archives of the UK. Material types include: Diplomatic dispatches, Telegrams, Newspaper cuttings and transcripts, Maps, Photographs, Political and economic reports, Accounts of visits and tours, Minutes of meetings, Conference proceedings, Letters, leaflets and other ephemera. Content covers: 1947-1964, Independence, Partition and the Nehru Era; 1965-1971, South Asian Convicts and Independence for Bangladesh; 1972-1980, Afghanistan and the Cold War, Emergency Rule in India, and the Resumption of Civilian Rule in Pakistan.

This collection of British Foreign Office documents provides significant insight into the events between the end of WWI and the end of World War II, crucial to understanding Japan politics during this period. Topics covered include ultra-nationalism and the Japanese agenda of imperial dominance in the Far East, employment and social conditions in a time of global economic instability, and the ‘Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. These documents record relations with Axis Powers in the context of changing alliances, the deterioration of relations with the Allies as World War II reached the Pacific, and American post-war occupation of Japan.

Global Think Tanks is a growing digital repository providing access to more than 3 million reports, working papers, policy briefs, and data sources drawn from over 21,000 IGOs, NGOs, internationally-based think tanks and research organizations, along with document histories of 450 defunct organizations. Content is harvested (and indexed) on trending research topics across a wide range of disciplines and includes hard-to-find local and regional collections and at-risk content.

Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more. The database indexes more than 1,800 academic historical journals in over 40 languages back to 1955, provides full text for more than 349 journals and more than 120 books.

With coverage from1832 to 1953, the 12 English-language Chinese historical newspapers that comprise the database provide researchers unique insight into Chinese political and social life during this turbulent 120 year period.

The Index Islamicus database indexes literature on Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world. (With links to full-text where available.)

Click "Login" at the top, then select "Through IP Login." We recommend using Chrome for this database. Indiastat.com is a gateway to comprehensive and authentic socio-economic information related to India. It includes data on subjects and areas such as agriculture, education, tourism, health and industry.

This database compiles news about corporate and government intelligence in France, Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia.

Full-text periodicals, news, reports, books, and proprietary background information summaries relating to terrorism and security. Combines deep background from scholarly sources with expert commentary from a range of organizations, agencies, and publishers and reviews of recent developments across the international political, military, economic, social, and technical spectrum.

Japan Knowledge is one of the largest collections of resources about Japan. It provides access to various reference sources including Encyclopedia Nipponica, Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan (Illustrated), English-Japanese dictionaries and full text books. Simultaneous Users: 1

Searchable full-image archive of this English-language newspaper published in Japan from its inception in 1897 through 2020.

K-Developedia is an open access repository focusing on Korea's development experience within the context of socioeconomic policy, comparative analysis, and development assistance programs implemented by Korea for partner countries. The database includes more than 37,000 full text articles, reports, case studies, policy documents, workshop and consultation proceedings, statistical data on 1,545 key development indicators, and photos, videos and oral data. Content is in English and/or Korean with accompanying English abstract.

Kikuzo II Visual (朝日新聞オンライン記事データべース) is one of the largest newspaper article databases in Japan, with over eight million articles from over 130 years of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. The database also includes Who's Who and Historical Photo Archives.

Includes selected full-text publications including encyclopedias and, dictionaries and primary documents on Korean history, art and culture, and access to the digital arts and culture lecture series.

Lectures presented by well-known Korean scholars and specialists on architecture, literature, culture, art, cinema, music, and philosophy. The continuing education lecture series contains a wide variety of video casts on each topic. (Part of KoreaA2Z.)

Databases includes approximately 2,300 Korean scholarly journals. All the journal titles are divided into 10 subject categories, and all the back issues of each journal title are available. Keyword searchable.

A multimedia database dedicated to Korean history and culture. The database includes 17 titles covering subjects such as archeology, Korean history, and art history.

Full text database of Korean scholarly journal articles, university publications and research papers published by over 1,200 research institutions in Korea. The database covers a wide range of subjects, including languages, history, philosophy, literature, education, sociology, business/economics, law, science, mathematics, agriculture, engineering, medical science, arts, and physical education.

Keyword-searchable database of primary sources in Korean history, literature, medicine and philosophy. The database is also keyword searchable, and includes image files of original texts in classical Chinese with a searchable translated version in Korean.

A database of South Korean legal materials including law information, judicial precedent, administration data, lawyer and law firm information, etc.

This comprehensive collection of facsimile documents contains all available diplomatic reports regarding Korea that are housed in the British National Archives. The period covered by the collection begins with the Korean monarchy, and includes the time spent under Japanese rule, the split into north and south Korea, and the Korean War.

One of the oldest English-language newspaper in Korea, with coverage back to the 1950s. The Korea Times is known for its coverage of international business, economic and financial news. It also provides a window into historical and modern politics, society, economy, and culture in Korea and is a good source for researching local, regional and international news from the Korean perspective.

Full text database available for major journals and newspapers published in North Korea. KPM database includes the English edition of the Pyongyang Times, and the PDF version of Rodong Sinmun, Minju Choson, Munhak Sinmun includes color photos. Searchable by keywords, and browsable by subject areas or journal/newspaper titles.  Available both in Korean & Japanese.

Provides 4,500 full-text e-books including academic monographs, dissertations and theses in PDF format, covering subjects throughout the arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences.

Provides access to 6 million articles from the Mainich Shimbun and precursor titles from 1872

Bibliographic index of research, policy, and scholarly discourse on the countries and peoples of the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa.

Providing current news pertaining to all branches of the military, this database covers about 400 titles, with the full text of nearly 300 journals and periodicals and 245 pamphlets. Includes CountryWatch's Country Review.

This database includes more than 200 Chinese newspapers that were published from 1840 to 1949 at both national and local levels. The national level newspapers are such as 《新华日报》《东南日报》《京报》《晨报》，and the local newspaper are like 《北京益世报》《东北时报》《湖南妇女报》《青岛时报》. 

Declassified documents regarding critical U.S. foreign policy decisions organized into 62 collections.

Major database from Japan focusing on business and economics. Some titles available from 1876. Content in Japanese from a wide variety of national, local and technical newspapers, statistical and corporate sources. Content in English is from major Nikkei publications and national newspapers (Asahi, Yomiuri, Mainichi) as well as from major newspapers in Singapore (The Straits Times, The Business Times), Malaysia (New Straits Times, Business Times Malaysia, Bernama News), Indonesia (The Jakarta Post, Antara News), Vietnam (Viet Nam News), Thailand (Bangkok Post), Mongolia (Montsame Daily News), Taiwan (Want China Times, Focus Taiwan), China (People’s Daily Online) and Korea (Maeil Business Newspaper, Korea JoongAng Daily) among others.

Nikkoku Online = Unabridged Japanese Dictionary. A database version of the largest Japanese dictionary, Nihon Kokugo Dai-jiten, 2nd edition. The dictionary consists of 14 volumes, and contains 500,000 subjects as well as 1 million usage examples, which cover from classical Japanese to modern Japanese.

The North China Herald was a major English-language newspaper published in China from the 1850s to the 1940s. It is a major source for the history of the foreign presence in China in that period. It was the official journal for British consular notifications and announcements of the Shanghai Municipal Council, and published translations of Chinese official notifications and news from across China.

News, opinion and analysis, research tools, and primary and secondary data from and about the politics, military, society and culture of North Korea. Sections include: News, Intelligence, KCNA Watch, Analysis & Opinion, Investigation, Tools & Data, Real Life, Travel, Ask a North Korean.

Please use Nikkei Telecom21 for Okinawa Times materials.

Covers journal articles, books, conference proceedings, and other literature on the full range of political, social, and public policy issues. Also included is information about websites, publications and organizations.

Digital archive to the official newspaper of the People’s Republic of China’s Central Military Commission. The publication acts as the authoritative media of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army for the release of military news and comprehensive military-related information. Dates of coverage January 1, 1956 to present; updated annually.

The database Policies, Laws & Regulations of China provides valuable information on Chinese jurisdiction, legislature, and business laws. The database holds more than 1,000 records covering a comprehensive range of Chinese policies, regulations and Laws of both national and regional levels from 1949 onward. Simultaneous Users: 2

Full-text, full image of Renmin Ribao (人民日报, People’s Daily), the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the central newspaper of record for the modern Chinese state. The database features full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and 100% searchable text. The interface is in Simplified Chinese and content before 1955 is in Traditional Chinese. Coverage: 1946-5/2012.

This database covers issues from 1943-1946 of the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury This English-language newspaper represented the perspective of Shanghai's American business community.

The Shen Bao (申报, also spelled Shunpao) database is full-text searchable and contains PDF page images of this newspaper published from 1872 to 1949. This database, containing more than 2 million articles, works best on Internet Explorer.

Users must download a reader (using Internet Explorer) in order to access this resource. Please click on database link for more information. Please email The Global Resources Center at grc@gwu.edu or call 202 994-7105 for questions. Simultaneous users: 1

Users must create a login user name and password for access to database. Provides statistics, state government official documents, and comments of CMIE analysts on the data and CMIE forecasts. Published by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

Taiwan Academic Classics offers classic works from China/Taiwan and contemporary scholarly thought from academic societies in Taiwan and around the world. The federated search platform of Taiwan Academic Classics incorporates full text searchable Web access to core journals in the humanities and social sciences from 1928 to the present with ancient compilations from China's earliest Dynasties. Taiwan Academic Classics includes authoritative archives and historic documents from the era of the Chinese Republic. Taiwan Academic Classics integrates a total of 2 billion characters, 300 different journals, 6,630 ancient works and more than 100,000 dissertations, with contributions from 35,000 authors.

Offers full-text Taiwanese periodicals in five main categories: Social Sciences, Humanities, Applied Sciences, Medical & Life Sciences, and Natural Sciences. Searchable in English or Chinese. Abstracts are in English. Full-text (PDF) articles are in Chinese.

Access to this Japanese magazine published by the Taiwan Governor House during the Japanese colonial period. Issues included were politics, industry, trade, transportation, military, education, judiciary, police, civil engineering, technology, handicraft and arts.

Covers a time span from the Tang Dynasty to the Japanese colonial period and incorporates local histories, and official documents of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The database covers a wide variety of dimensions of Taiwan, including history, geography, local customs, politics, economy, sociology, laws and culture.

This collection offers unique primary source documents relating to the demonstrations and their aftermath: public mail, memoranda, reports, cables, meeting notes, news clippings and much more.

Offers translated and English language news and information compiled from non-United States media sources. Coverage includes political, environmental, scientific, technical, and socioeconomic issues and events. Coverage: 1995-2013. Continued "Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports," published in print from approx. 1944-1996.

Provides citations to the international periodical literature in political science and its complementary fields.

The Zasshi Kiji Sakuin Shusei Databesu (雑誌記事索引集成データベース) database consists of index data of magazines and periodicals published from the Meiji Era to the present. In addition to the full National Diet Library current periodicals index, the database includes general and local periodicals and academic journals from before World War II. The number of the articles within the database is well over 110 million.