The “Grand Grand Secretariat Archives refers to the documents originally located in the storerooms of the Grand Secretariat of the Qing dynasty. These documents were originally sold to the paper factory but fortunately recovered and later passed on to the Institute of History and Phllology through several changes of hands in the early Republican era. The total number of documents in our collection is estimated at 310,000 items. The collection, dating from the Ming dynasty to the late Qing dynasty, encompasses a great variety of subjects. Serious researchers of Ming-Qing studies should not miss the opportunity to explore this wonderful collection. Please refer to the “Grand Secretariat Archives-Inventory and History of Preservation” for more detailed information regarding its contents, how it came into our possession, as well as the efforts that have been devoted to its preservation and inventory.

The Grand Secretariat Archives Project was launched in 1981. Much of its early work focused largely on conservation and cataloging. Since 1996, the digitization and metadata management of these materials has also been underway. More detailed metadata has been supplemented to each document in order to provide file description and searchable key words. The documents were also scanned, photographed, and stored digitally using the latest technology. Since this is an ongoing project, the database is updated constantly. The database has been opened to serve public interest since March 2001. Researchers, students, and the general public may browse through the table of contents free of charge, or search the complete database after registration.

http://archive.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/mct/