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Posted by: Joshua Kueh
The Asian Division is now accepting applications for its Florence Tan Moeson Fellowship, which supports short-term research visits to the Asian Reading Room at the Library of Congress. This year's application deadline is midnight Sunday, January 12, 2025.
Posted in: Announcements, Asian Division, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Uncategorized
Posted by: Cameron Penwell
(The following is a collaborative post with contributions from Elli Kim, Korean Reference Librarian; Joshua Kueh, Southeast Asian Reference Librarian; Cameron Penwell, Japanese Reference Librarian; and Ryan Wolfson-Ford, Southeast Asian Reference Librarian) With Halloween now upon us, we thought it would be interesting to learn more about ghosts, ghouls, and things that go bump in …
Posted in: Asian Division, East Asia, Southeast Asia
Posted by: Cameron Penwell
(The following post is by Cameron Penwell, Japanese Reference Specialist, Asian Division.) On March 31, 1854, the signing of the US-Japan Treaty of Peace and Amity marked the beginning of official relations between the United States and Japan. In connection with the 170th anniversary of this historical event, the Library of Congress has launched a …
Posted in: Asian Division, East Asia
Posted by: Ryan Wolfson-Ford
(This post is a cross-post written by Dianne Choie, Educational Programs Specialist at the Library of Congress. It originally appeared on the blog Minerva’s Kaleidoscope.) You may have counted down to midnight on December 31st to ring in 2024, but did you know that in some parts of the world, February 10th marks the beginning …
Posted in: Asian American History, Asian Division, East Asia, Holidays
Posted by: Joshua Kueh
Create an origami shrimp from the Library’s collections. This blog shares about collections in the Library’s Asian Division and provides instructions for a paper-folding activity.
Posted in: Asian Division, East Asia, Uncategorized
Posted by: Cameron Penwell
The Yongle Encyclopedia (Yongle dadian), completed in 1408, was premodern China's, and perhaps the world's, largest reference work. The Library of Congress holds 41 unique volumes, which have been fully digitized and made available online. This post traces the compilation, transmission, near loss, and contemporary preservation of this momentous work. We invite book-lovers to enjoy in high resolution its exquisite calligraphy and illustrations.
Posted in: Asian Division, East Asia
Posted by: Ryan Wolfson-Ford
This blog post highlights the Library of Congress Asian Division’s “Collection of Wartime Messages from China to the American People (1943-1945) and Other Materials.” The collection is made up of items related to the Second Sino-Japanese War, among which are 2,100 rarely seen hand-written letters, booklets, and scrolls in Chinese that were created in wartime China.
Posted in: Asian Division, East Asia
Posted by: Cameron Penwell
An exploration of early appearances of red pandas in collections at the Library of Congress.
Posted in: Asian Division, East Asia
Posted by: Cameron Penwell
This post tells the story behind the notebook of Imperial Japanese Navy Lieutenant Sakuma Tsutomu (1879-1910). Following a submarine accident, Sakuma dutifully recorded his and his crew’s heroic, but doomed, efforts to save themselves.
Posted in: Asian Division, East Asia