Campderrós-i-Canas. (2013). Shanghai Night Skyline. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/joanet/6272981764
Map of China
Image Citation: Country Map (The People's Republic of China), in Europa World online. London, Routledge. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Retrieved 01 November 2018 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/cn.MAP.
Learn Mandarin!
- Mango Languages
An online language learning resource that covers over 70 languages. Courses are accessible from a web browser or app.
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- Tennessee Electronic LibraryCreate an account with TEL to access Transparent Language Online from their website. Find it in the right side bar entitled "Featured Resources."
Art & Architecture
Theme Pavilion; detail featuring "flame and wave" sculpture, main entrance plaza, northwest side
Theme Pavilion; detail featuring a flame and wave sculpture, main entrance plaza, northwest side. Retrieved from http://library.artstor.org/asset/ARTONFILE_DB_10313254732
Grands Pyramides du Louvre; detail of spiral staircase; view of old Louvre
I.M. Pei. (1989). Grands Pyramides du Louvre; detail of spiral staircase; view of old Louvre. Retrieved from http://library.artstor.org/asset/ARTONFILE_DB_10310489194
Great Wall of China The Great Wall 长城 general view context view with distant fortress
(Work: 221-1469 (inclusive), Era: BCE-CE, Image: 1992). Great Wall of China
The Great Wall
长城, general view, context view with distant fortress. [defensive walls]. Retrieved from http://library.artstor.org/asset/SS7730878_7730878_10557251
View of Qixia Shan near Nanjing; detail
Gong Xian (Kung Hsien), b. c. 1620-1689. View of Qixia Shan near Nanjing; detail. [vertical scroll]. Retrieved from http://library.artstor.org/asset/AAPDIG_10311727201
Riha, Zhaojue, Sichuan, China, from the series The Yi People
Li Lang , Chinese, Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, 1969. (2002). Riha, Zhaojue, Sichuan, China, from the series The Yi People. [photograph]. Retrieved from http://library.artstor.org/asset/ASFMOMAIG_10312704755
Calligraphy by Wang Duo (Wang To), 1592-1652
Wang Duo (Wang To), 1592-1652. Calligraphy. [fan]. Retrieved from http://library.artstor.org/asset/AAPDIG_10311726604
ARTStor
More than one million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences. Please note: you must register for a free account in order to download images.
Online and E-Book Dictionaries
- Tuttle Concise Chinese Dictionary byCall Number: E-Book
- Tuttle Concise Chinese Dictionary : Completely Revised and Updated Second Edition byCall Number: E-BookThis is the most up-to-date Mandarin Chinese Dictionary on the market Tuttle Concise Chinese Dictionary has both Chinese to English and English to Chinese sections. It's compact size allows for easy transport without limiting the content. This Mandarin dictionary is perfect for Chinese language students, or business people and tourists traveling to China who wish to learn Chinese. It contains over 25,000 words and expressions (including all the required words for the official HSK Chinese Proficiency Examination), carefully selected to cover all important aspects of life and commerce in China. In addition, extensive information on Chinese grammar and Mandarin pronunciation are included. This dictionary contains the following features: 25,000 Chinese words and expressions.
Databases
- Bibliography of Asian StudiesA Western-language bibliography covering all subjects pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia with a focus on humanities and social science. Coverage from 1971 to present.
- China Academic Journals Full-text DatabaseA comprehensive, full-text database of Chinese journals in literature, history, and philosophy from China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Coverage from 1915 to present. Note: We subscribe to Subject F Literature, History, Philosophy only.
- Siku Quanshu, Wenyuange EditionContains 3,460 Chinese works, including history, astronomy, geography, politics, economics, and more.
- Visual History Archive
Access to video testimonies of survivors and witnesses of genocide. In addition to the Holocaust, oral testimonies are included from the Armenian genocide, 1937 Nanjing Massacre in China, etc. First time users: Register for an account using your UT email on the VHA site.
Related Guides
Facts in Brief
The People’s Republic of China covers a vast area of eastern Asia, with Mongolia and the Russian Federation to the north, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to the north-west, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the west, and India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Laos and Viet Nam to the south. The country borders the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) in the north-east, and has a long coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The climate ranges from subtropical in the far south to an average annual temperature of below 10°C (50°F) in the north, and from the monsoon climate of eastern China to the aridity of the north-west. The principal language is Northern Chinese (Mandarin, known as Putonghua or common speech); in the south and south-east local dialects are spoken. The Xizangzu (Tibetans), Uygurs, Menggus (Mongols) and other groups have their own languages. The traditional religions and philosophies of life are Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism). There are also Muslim and Christian minorities. The national flag (proportions 2 by 3) is plain red, with one large five-pointed gold star and four similar but smaller stars, arranged in an arc, in the upper hoist. The capital is Beijing (Peking).
Text citation: Location, Climate, Language, Religion, Flag, Capital (The People's Republic of China), in Europa World online. London, Routledge. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Retrieved 01 November 2018 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/cn.is.2.
Music and Dance of Yunnan province, China
- Academic Video Online
A multidisciplinary streaming video collection containing documentaries, films, interviews, music, news programs, and performances.
The Guessing Song (Yunnan)
Seven Tunes Heard in China by Call Number: M52.S523 T8 2001This joyful suite of pieces for solo cello, based on folk melodies from various regions of the composer's native China, was written for and premiered by Yo-Yo Ma, who has also recorded it for Sony Classical. The Guessing Song (Yunnan) is cello solo no.2 in the collection.
- Music Online: Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries
This streaming audio database produced in partnership with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, is a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions.
Classical Chinese Folk Music
Hubei Song and Dance Ensemble of the People's Republic of China
Chinese Opera
Book Gallery
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, attributed to Luo Guanzhong, is a historical novel set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 169 AD and ending with the reunification of the land in 280. The story - part historical, part legend, and part mythical - romanticises and dramatises the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who tried to replace the dwindling Han dynasty or restore it. While the novel follows hundreds of characters, the focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han dynasty, and would eventually form the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The novel deals with the plots, personal and military battles, intrigues, and struggles of these states to achieve dominance for almost 100 years. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is acclaimed as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature; it has a total of 800,000 words and nearly a thousand dramatic characters (mostly historical) in 120 chapters. The novel is among the most beloved works of literature in East Asia.
The Water Margin
Based upon the historical bandit Song Jiang and his companions, this Chinese equivalent of the English classic Robin Hood and His Merry Men is an epic tale of rebellion against tyranny and has been thrilling and inspiring readers for hundreds of years. This edition of the classic J. H. Jackson translation features a new preface and introduction by Edwin Lowe, which gives the history of the book and puts the story into perspective for modern readers. While Chinese in origin, the themes ofThe Water Margin are universal enough that it has served as a source of inspiration for numerous movies, television shows and video games up to the present day.
Monkey
Part spiritual pilgrimage, part historical epic, the folk novel Journey to the West , which came to be known as Monkey, is the most popular classic of Asian literature. Originally written in the sixteenth century, it is the story of the adventures of the rogue-trickster Monkey and his encounters with a bizarre cast of characters as he travels to India with the Buddhist pilgrim Tripitaka in search of sacred scriptures. Much more than a picaresque adventure novel, Monkey is a profound allegory of the struggle that must occur before spiritual transformation is possible. David Kherdian's masterful telling brings this classic of Chinese literature to life in a way that is true to the scope and depth of the original.
Dream of the Red Chamber
For more than a century and a half, Dream of the Red Chamber has been recognized in China as the greatest of its novels, a Chinese Romeo-and-Juliet love story and a portrait of one of the world's great civilizations. Chi-chen Wang's translation is skillful, accurate and fascinating.
Waiting
"In Waiting, Ha Jin portrays the life of Lin Kong, a dedicated doctor torn by his love for two women: one who belongs to the New China of the Cultural Revolution, the other to the ancient traditions of his family's village. Ha Jin profoundly understands the conflict between the individual and society, between the timeless universality of the human heart and constantly shifting politics of the moment. With wisdom, restraint, and empathy for all his characters, he vividly reveals the complexities and subtleties of a world and a people we desperately need to know."--Judges' Citation, National Book Award
"A simple love story that transcends cultural barriers--. From the idyllic countryside to the small towns in northeast China, Jin's depictions are filled with an earthy poetic grace--. Jin's account of daily life in China is convincing and rich in detail."--The Chicago Tribune