Resources for Scholars: Libraries & Museums

C.V. Starr East Asian Library: Chinese Studies Special Collections

John Fryer Collection: This collection consists of over 2,000 volumes on Chinese history, philosophy and classics, which are mostly 18th and 19th century imprints. It also contains some of Fryer's translations of Western scientific and technological works, 5,000 lantern slides, and original manuscripts submitted by contestants in a novel writing contest Fryer organized in 1895, which were published recently as a 14-volume 清末時新小說集(2011).

Chinese rare book collection: It contains over 800 titles in over 11,000 volumes dated before 1795, including 43 titles printed during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties, and manuscripts that were hand copied by well-known scholars. 41 titles of the Song Yuan rare books have been reprinted in China. 柏克萊加州大學東亞圖書館藏宋元珍本叢刊 (2014). The East Asian Library has published a Chinese rare book catalog 柏克萊加州大学東亞圖書館中文古籍善本書志(2005), A relatively comprehensive catalog of the Chinese books (pre-1912) is published in 2017. 

The Stone and Bronze Rubbings: The collection includes more than 2,000 items of fine model copybooks of Chinese calligraphy and stone rubbings. A two volume catalog 柏克萊加州大學東亞圖書館藏碑帖 was published by the East Asian library in 2008. The library also purchased a collection of rubbings compiled by the well-known Qing Dynasty antiquarian Chen Jieqi 陳介祺, entitled 簠齋存古餘錄

Early Buddhist Scriptures: The East Asian library has acquired the Ho-Chiang Collection of Early Buddhist Scriptures, which contains woodblock and manuscript sutras that date from the 8th  to the 19th centuries. This collection was originally collected by Ho Kuang-chung and his wife, Chiang Chen-yu. The library also holds one outstanding volume of manuscript that was calligraphed by the Qing scholoar Qian Qianyi 錢謙益, which was a rare gift that it received from the grandson of Chiang Ju-tsao 蔣汝藻, owner of the fine private library 密韻樓

Paul Fonoroff Film Collections for Chinese Film Studies: This collection was acquired by the C.V. Starr East Asian Library in 2015. Now it is the largest and most comprehensive Chinese film studies collection in North America. It contains  over-70,000 periodicals, posters, photographs, and ephemera.  

For more information, including available databases, newspapers, films, articles, and dissertations, visit Chinese Studies on the library website.

Additional Resources

UC Berkeley Libraries

List of all UC Berkeley Libraries

BAMPFA

"The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive the visual arts center of the University of California, Berkeley. BAMPFA inspires the imagination, ignites critical dialogue, and activates community engagement through art, film, and other forms of creative expression"... they also host Chinese film screenings, series, famous Chinese film directors. A visit spot for anyone interested in film.

Asian Art Museum

"Located on the Pacific Rim and serving one of the most diverse communities in the United States, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco – Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture is uniquely positioned to lead a diverse, global audience in discovering the distinctive materials, aesthetics and intellectual achievements of Asian art and cultures..."

Asia Week

Taking place in the first week of every October, Asia Week San Francisco Bay Area brings together Asian art galleries, auction houses, museums, and cultural institutions, for a series of events celebrating Asian art and culture. The mission of Asia Week San Francisco Bay Area is to establish a broad platform to showcase and promote Asian art, further fostering an appreciation for cultural diversity.