The China Records Project

The China Records Project was initiated by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A in 1968. The aim of the project was to insure the preservation of the personal records of former missionaries to China and to provide a central repository where these papers would be available to historians.

The Yale Divinity School Library was chosen as this central repository in 1969 and has continued to solicit and accept China-related papers since that time. The Divinity Library now holds approximately 1700 linear feet of manuscript materials related to mission work and the Christian church in China. Records of more than 400 former China missionaries are represented. The library has also purchased several microform archives collections to complement its holdings of original manuscripts.

A survey of topics pursued by researchers in recent years indicates that these records are of use both in providing information about events, movements, and institutions in China, and in providing insight into the Western societies that sent, supported, and were embodied in the missionaries.

To discover materials related to China held by the Divinity Library see the China Resources Guide.

Also of interest are the Historical Records Collection ("HR" call numbers) and "A" pamphlet series, which include documentation of mission work in China by numerous Western agencies. These can be searched for in Orbis, the online catalog.

Collections on China missions are also available at Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, including:

• Archives of the Yale-China Association
• Personal papers of:
  • George Henry Hubbard (1885-1925)
  • Samuel Wells Williams (1833-1879)
  • Numerous individuals who served at the Yale-China institutions
  • Yung Wing, first Chinese student to graduate from Yale