A student of Chinese, no matter how long he or she has been studying the language, is often intimidated by a library of Chinese materials. Finding a source in a Congshu 叢書 or looking up an entry in a reference book can be a very difficult task if you lack confidence, and confidence can only be gained through practice. For this reason, this is a very practical course and is not recommended for students who cannot attend classes regularly. A sound knowledge of Chinese or Japanese or Korean is essential to successfully complete this course.

This course is a basic introduction to the use of Chinese source materials and is divided into three parts. Part 1 covers sources and reference tools for philological and bibliographical research and textual criticism; Part 2 covers sources and reference tools for research in ancient history and special subjects; and Part 3 covers sources and reference tools for biography, geography and government in ancient China.

This course runs from 11 March to 30 May (Spring term 2024, 12 weeks). Graduate students who meet the language requirements are welcome to register for this course on the Moodle e-learning platform. Course short name: SOURCES/24.