Which Top Books On China Include Primary Historical Sources?

If I had to hand someone a short starter pack of books that actually contain primary sources, I’d say: 'Sources of Chinese Tradition' for breadth, 'Records of the Grand Historian' ('Shiji') for classical narrative sources, and 'Selected Works of Mao Zedong' for modern primary political texts. These give you the voices of the past rather than just historians telling their story.

A couple of practical notes from my own desk: pick annotated editions whenever possible, because translators' notes explain context, variant readings, and why a phrase was rendered in a particular way. Also mix in epigraphic and archaeological primary sources — translations of oracle bone inscriptions or tomb texts can be patchy but are invaluable for early periods. If you’re more digitally inclined, the Chinese Text Project hosts many primary texts with parallel characters and searchable indices, which really speeds up comparative reading. Try one classical text and one modern document collection together — it sharpens your sense of continuity and change much more than secondary overviews alone.

I still get excited flipping through dusty pages of a good sourcebook — there’s something electric about reading what people actually wrote centuries ago. If you want solid collections of primary material, start with 'Sources of Chinese Tradition' (ed. Wm. Theodore de Bary et al.). It’s basically the go-to two-volume anthology for premodern and modern China, with annotated translations of classics, imperial edicts, philosophers, and modern political documents. For narrative history in primary form, grab 'Records of the Grand Historian' ('Shiji') by Sima Qian — Burton Watson’s translation is readable and indispensable for early imperial China.

For long chronological oversight that still includes primary excerpts, 'The Cambridge History of China' is a heavyweight: mostly secondary analysis but peppered with translated documents and bibliographic leads to primary texts. If you’re interested in medieval administrative practice and big documentary collections, look for selections from the 'Zizhi Tongjian' (Sima Guang) — there are useful English excerpts and studies.

For modern-era primary sources, nothing beats contemporaneous collections like 'Selected Works of Mao Zedong' and the published writings of Sun Yat-sen. Also, don’t forget online repositories: the Chinese Text Project and various university digital archives hold many primary texts in translation and often the original characters, which is a lifesaver if you want to cross-check translations. Happy hunting — and bring a highlighter.

I like to approach this like a scavenger hunt: identify eras you care about, then find the primary voices from those moments. For ancient and classical China, start with translations of the canonical texts: 'The Analects' (Confucius) and 'Mencius' for philosophical discourse; 'Records of the Grand Historian' ('Shiji') for biography and early history. Archaeological materials such as translations of oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions are increasingly available in English anthologies and journals and they change how you think about early state formation.

For medieval China, collections that excerpt court memorials, law codes, and official histories are gold — excerpts from the 'Zizhi Tongjian' and selections from dynastic histories provide firsthand administrative materials. Moving into modern times, published party documents and leaders’ writings (for example, 'Selected Works of Mao Zedong' and collections of Sun Yat-sen’s writings) are core primary sources. I also lean heavily on guides like 'Chinese History: A New Manual' by Endymion Wilkinson as a roadmap to primary texts and manuscript repositories — it won’t replace the sources, but it points you to exact documents, archives, and reliable translations. My tip: once you identify a primary text, hunt for annotated or bilingual editions so you don’t get lost in translation choices.

Quick, practical list I often hand out to friends who want primary sources: 'Sources of Chinese Tradition' (best general anthology), 'Records of the Grand Historian' ('Shiji') for early narrative, 'The Analects' and 'Mencius' for core philosophical texts, and 'Selected Works of Mao Zedong' for twentieth-century politics. For reference work that points straight to primary materials and archives, grab 'Chinese History: A New Manual' — it’s a dense road-map of sources and editions.

A few short tips: choose translations with good notes, pair primary texts with a modern historian’s chapter to get context, and use the Chinese Text Project for checking originals. Start slow: one classical text and one modern document collection will teach you more than trying to read everything at once. If you like digging, the primary sources are endlessly rewarding.