SOAS East Asia digital collections are drawn from the physical holdings of the SOAS library, with three principle foci in China & Inner Asia, Japan, and Korea. Digital collections are growing rapidly.
The China and Inner Asia section contains material on China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Tibet, Mongolia, and Eastern Siberia. It contains materials in Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan, as well as Russian and other western languages. Coverage is very wide and reflects the range of subjects. The physical collection consists of some 200,000 volumes of printed materials; some 5,000 periodical and newspaper titles; 1,100 pre-1949 local histories; and 600 congshu (collectanea). A rich resources for modern and contemporary China studies and a solid working basis for the study of pre-modern China. -- For more information about the physical collection, see the collection's web page.
The digital collection currently includes a collection of historic publications from Guangdong (Canton) province, together with images from Manchuria and the Russian Far East.
Subcollections of China include:
The digital collection also maintains a sizeable collection of Chinese woodblock prints.
The Japan collection contains materials in Japanese and western languages. The physical collection holds some 160,000 monographs; over 1,300 periodicals, the majority in Japanese; and over 300 audio-visual materials for teaching and research in Japanese studies. The main focus is on the humanities & social sciences. The physical library also includes an extensive collection of pre-modern texts and prints, including some 300 woodblock print books and over 500 prints. -- For more information about the physical collection, see the collection's web page.
The digital collection currently maintains a sizeable collection of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints.
The Korea collection contains materials in Korean and western languages. The physical collection holds some 80,000 monographs including publications from North Korea and official reports produced by the Governor-General of Korea. In addition, there are some 700 Korean and western language periodicals; and, over 400 audio-visual materials for teaching and research in Korean studies. -- For more information about the physical collection, see the collection's web page.
The digital collection currently is limited to a treasure of the collection, the Procession of Korean Ambassadors, a hand painted scroll from circa 1650.