I. Program Information

East Asian Studies has long had two facets: 1) The Great Tradition which concentrates on all aspects of pre-modern civilization, but especially on the art, religion, philosophy, literature, and history of traditional East Asia, and which follows this tradition into modern times; and 2) Present-day East Asia which concentrates on political, sociological, and economic developments in modern society. In the past, teaching and research interests at Penn were primarily directed towards studying the Great Tradition, and this emphasis continues in the present curriculum. As a result the majority of faculty and students studying East Asia have a connection with, first, the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Dept., followed by those in either the History Dept. or History and Sociology of Science Dept. The recent internationalization of curricula throughout the university, however, has meant an increase of faculty and students from a variety of departments who are studying present-day East Asia.

Departments that offer the most courses in East Asian Studies are the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Dept. and the History Dept., but faculty and students in other departments, in particular members of the Economics, History of Art, History and Soc iology of Science, Political Science, Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology Depts., also are concerned with East Asian Studies. Scholars and students with a connection to the University Museum concentrate on East Asian archaeology and early civilization. The Wharton School, with its increasing emphasis on international topics, has members studying East Asian economics and commerce. In addition the Lauder Institute offers a joint MBA/MA degree in Management and International Studies with a concentration on East Asia.

The Center for East Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary unit composed of faculty members whose teaching and research focus primarily on China, Japan, Korea, and bordering areas. This Center initiates, organizes, and coordinates East Asian course offerings in the various departments and schools. It also supports the expansion and enrichment of East Asian Studies at Penn.

II. Collection Description

East Asian Studies is served by several components in the library: 1) The East Asian Collection which houses books and bound journals in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. 2) The Derk Bodde East Asian Seminar Library which collects core reference and other research materials, primarily in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, but which includes a few basic resources in European languages. The Seminar Library houses a few recent unbound core journals in East Asian languages as well. 3) The Current Periodicals Section which keeps unbound East-Asian-language periodicals of a general nature and also periodicals on East Asian Studies in European languages. 4) Other sections and branches of the library system which collect materials, primarily in English, on East Asia. Of particular note are the University Museum Library and the Fisher Fine Arts Library which have extensive holdings in European and also East Asian languages.

The East Asian Collection began with one box of Chinese books left behind by the Chinese government after the U.S. Sesquicentennial Exposition in 1926. The Chinese component of the collection was built up gradually during the years that followed, esp ecially after 1938 when the University first offered courses on Chinese language and civilization. The Japanese component is more recent , starting only in 1952. The Korean component is chiefly made up of a few core reference works and materials acquired as gifts. In 1997 the collection had 97,200 monographs, 1,255 microfilms, and 71 current periodicals in Chinese; 45,540 monographs, 790 microfilms, and 160 periodicals in Japanese; and 5,225 monographs, and 17 periodicals in Korean.

The Collection developed in the past to meet the needs of those studying and teaching the Great Tradition, and consequently a large percentage of the holdings are on pre-modern Chinese and Japanese literature or East Asian religion and philosophy, wi th lesser concentration on East Asian history, pre-modern art and architecture, East Asian languages and linguistics, and traditional medicine. In the past five years long-term collection strengths have been maintained, with an additional attempt to incre ase the proportion of holdings in modern Chinese and Japanese literature and East Asian Women's Studies. New demands by users have prompted a modest increase in holdings on contemporary society, especially on statistics and reference works dealing with current topics.

III. Guidelines for Collection Development

The guidelines and subjects refer only to East-Asian-language materials. Works in European languages on East Asian Studies are generally selected by bibliographers for those language or subject areas.

The first priority of the East Asian Collection is to continue to acquire newly-published core materials in East Asian Studies, with special emphasis, in descending order of priority, upon basic reference sources and key journals on all subjects, bib liographies, pre-modern Chinese and Japanese literature, East Asian religion, East Asian women's studies, Chinese and Japanese history, modern Chinese and Japanese literature, East Asian traditional medicine, East Asian art and archaeology, East Asian soc ial sciences, current East Asian statistics, and traditional East Asian science and technology.

1. Chronological

   From antiquity to the present, with special emphasis on the medieval period.

2. Formats

   Chiefly books and journals, some newspapers, and databases.

3. Geographical

   China, Japan, Korea, and peripheral regions that impact on East Asia.

4. Language

   Chinese, Japanese, and some Korean.

5. Publication Dates

   Chiefly current publications, with some retrospective collecting, especially reprints of early Chinese collections.

IV. Principal Sources of Supply and major Selection Tools

The library selects most materials from lists put out by major book dealers of which the following are the most important: Joint Publishing Company, Hong Kong and Shanghai; Man's Book Co., Hong Kong; Chiao Liu, Hong Kong; China Post, Taipei; Longwind , Taipei; China National Publishing Industry and Trading Corp., Beijing; Japan Publications Trading Co., Tokyo; Isseido, Tokyo; and Panmum Book Co., Seoul.

In addition titles are selected from bibliographies or journal articles and ordered from one of the above vendors.

V. Subjects Collected and Levels of Collecting

 

Subjects Collected                  Levels of Collecting
---------------------------------   --------------------
Anthropology of East Asia 
   English                          3/3/4 
   Chinese                          1/1/3 
   Japanese                         1/1/2 
Archaeology of East Asia 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          2/2/3 
   Japanese                         2/2/3 
Art/Architecture 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          3/3/4 
   Japanese                         3/3 
Buddhism 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          4/4 
   Japanese                         4/4 
Chinese folklore 
   English                          2/2 
   Chinese                          2/2/3 
Chinese history, pre-modern 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          4/4 
   Japanese                         2/2 
Chinese history, 20th century 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          2/2/3 
   Japanese                         1/1/2 
Chinese literature, pre-modern 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          4/4 
   Japanese                         2/2 
Chinese literature, 20th century 
   English                          3/3/4 
   Chinese                          2/2/3 
Chinese philosophy, pre-modern 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          3/3 
   Japanese                         2/2 
Chinese philosophy, modern 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          2/2 
Confucianism 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          3/3/4 
   Japanese                         2/2/3 
Diplomatic history of East Asia 
   English                          3/3/4 
   Chinese                          2/2/3 
   Japanese                         2/2/4 
Economic history of East Asia 
   English                          3/3/4 
   Chinese                          2/2 
   Japanese                         2/2 
Economics (Modern) of East Asia 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          2/2 
   Japanese                         2/2 
Japanese folklore 
   English                          2/2 
   Japanese                         2/2 
Japanese history, pre-modern 
   English                          4/4 
   Japanese                         3/3/4 
Japanese history, 1868-present 
   English                          4/4 
   Japanese                         2/2/4 
Japanese literature, pre-modern 
   English                          4/4 
   Japanese                         4/4 
Japanese literature, 20th century 
   English                          4/4 
   Japanese                         4/4 
Japanese philosophy, pre-modern 
   English                          4/4 
   Japanese                         3/3 
Japanese philosophy, modern 
   English                          3/3/4 
   Japanese                         2/3/3 
Korean history 
   English                          1/1/2 
Korean literature 
   English                          2/2 
Political Science of East Asia 
   English                          3/3 
   Chinese                          2/2 
   Japanese                         2/2/3 
Shintoism 
   English                          4/4 
   Japanese                         3/3 
Sociology of East Asia 
   English                          3/3/4 
   Chinese                          2/2/3 
   Japanese                         2/2 
Taoism 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          4/4 
   Japanese                         2/2 
Traditional medicine 
   English                          4/4 
   Chinese                          4/4 
   Japanese                         2/2 
Women's Studies 
   English                          3/3/4 
   Chinese                          2/2/3 
   Japanese                         3/3/4

VI. Subjects Excluded

Ephemeral works, textbooks except for some language readers, translations of Western literature into East Asian languages, and works on science in general.

VII. Cooperative Arrangements and Related Collections

The Library is a member of the Research Libraries Group.

Since Philadephia is close to several major East Asian collections, faculty and students are able to draw on those near-by resources to supplement the holdings at Penn. Of special interest are the strong law and pre-modern history collections at Columbia University and the extensive holdings at Princeton University. The largest collection on East Asia in the world at the Library of Congress is also within a day's commuting distance.