Upper School Library
Joanna Nichols Memorial Libraries

Taiwan Studies Guide

Introduction To This Guide

This is a multidisciplinary guide containing resources to support your studies and research on Taiwan.  

Here you can explore Taiwan through academic publications, historical archives, digitized collections, cultural heritage materials, and Indigenous perspectives from Taiwanese libraries and research institutions. We also feature TAS student poster presentations on Indigenous Taiwanese Heritage posted in 2024 by the IB CAS program. 

Not sure where to start? Your Librarians can help you identify appropriate sources and develop effective search strategies. Make a research support appointment here

GETTING STARTED

Start with Books, Articles & Theses for scholarly research; Primary Sources & Archives for original evidence; Taiwan History & Cultural Heritage for historical and cultural collections; and Indigenous Taiwan for Indigenous perspectives and media.

RESEARCH TIPS

Some websites offer English interfaces, while others are primarily in Traditional Chinese. Search results, registration requirements, and full-text availability vary by collection.

CITING SOURCES

Follow your teacher's guidelines on how to cite sources for your research on Taiwan. Depending on your course, you may be required to use any one of several citation guides such as MLS, Chicago, or APA.  All citation guides provide you with steps to cite materials that are translated from other languages to English. Consult a librarian if in doubt. 


 

 

Articles, Books, and Theses

Find the scholarship: Discover books, research articles, dissertations, and digitized publications about Taiwan

ARTICLES & PERIODICALS

  • PerioPath: Index to Taiwan Periodical Literature System — Open resource  Find articles and other periodical literature related to Taiwan.

DIGITIZED BOOKS

  • Taiwan eBook — Open resource  Explore digitized books relating to Taiwan.

LIBRARY CATALOGS & RESEARCH COLLECTIONS

  • 國家圖書館 (National Central Library) — Open resource  National library collections and digital resources. English homepage: http://enwww.ncl.edu.tw/ (Resources).

  • 國立臺灣圖書館 (National Taiwan Library) — Open resource  Library collections and Taiwan studies materials.

  • 國立公共資訊圖書館 (National Library of Public Information) — Open resource  Library collections and digital resources.

  • 國立臺灣大學圖書館 (National Taiwan University Library) — Open resource  See Search & Find > Special Collections > Taiwan Studies Collection.

THESES & DISSERTATIONS

  • NDLTD-Taiwan: National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan — Open resource  Search Taiwanese graduate research. English interface: https://etds.ncl.edu.tw/. Registration and email verification may enable full-text downloads where available.

     

Primary Sources and Archives

Explore the evidence: Investigate historical documents, government records, and original archival collections.

WHAT ARE PRIMARY SOURCES?

Primary sources are records, objects, images, and other materials that provide direct evidence relevant to a research question. Their status as primary evidence depends on the topic and how they are used.

GOVERNMENT RECORDS & ARCHIVES

  • 國史館 (Academia Historica) — Open resource  Collections > Collections Online System; 國史館檔案史料文物查詢系統.

  • 國史館臺灣文獻館 (Taiwan Historica) — Open resource  館藏檔案文物 > 檔案查詢系統 > 文獻檔案查詢系統.

  • 國家發展委員會檔案管理局 (National Archives Administration) — Open resource  Explore Archives Access Service, Archives Cross-boundaries, and Archives Access Center.

  • National Central Library Gazette Online — Open resource  Search digitized gazette publications.

RESEARCH INSTITUTE ARCHIVES

  • 中央研究院臺灣史研究所檔案館 (Archives of the Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica) — Open resource  See Collections.

  • 中央研究院近代史研究所檔案館 (Archives, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica) — Open resource  Diplomatic Archives, Economic Archives, and online collection database.

LOCAL & DIGITAL COLLECTIONS

  • 臺北市立文獻館 (Taipei City Archives) — Open resource  臺北市立文獻館典藏文物查詢系統.

  • Taiwan Memory — Open resource  Digitized historical and cultural materials.


 

 

Taiwan History and Culture

Connect past and present: Explore Taiwan studies, museums, historical materials, and digital heritage.

TAIWAN STUDIES & DIGITAL HUMANITIES

  • 臺灣學研究中心 (Taiwan Study Research Center) — Open resource  See 臺灣學電子資源整合查詢系統.

  • 臺灣大學數位人文研究中心 (Research Center for Digital Humanities, NTU) — Open resource  Digital humanities research and projects.

MUSEUMS & CULTURAL COLLECTIONS

  • 國立臺灣歷史博物館 (National Museum of Taiwan History) — Open resource  Museum and historical collections.

  • 數位典藏服務網 (Digital Archives Service, NLPI) — Open resource  Digitized cultural and historical materials.

SPECIALIZED HISTORICAL MATERIALS

  • 吳三連臺灣史料基金會：臺灣史料中心 (Wu San-Lien Foundation for Taiwan Historical Materials) — Open resource  Specialized Taiwan historical materials.

For additional original records, see the Primary Sources & Archives tab.

Indigenous Heritage

Taiwan is home to diverse Indigenous peoples with distinct histories, languages, and cultural traditions. Use Indigenous-produced materials alongside historical and scholarly research to explore different perspectives.

 

AN AUTHORITAITVE OVERVIEW OF INDIGENOUS TAIWAN:

  • The introduction of Martin's Ethnohistorical Perspectives thesis has good background information on Indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Published in 2006 at National Chenghi University, The thesis itself focuses on the Bunun.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

 

RADIO & INDIGENOUS SPOKEN LANGUAGE MEDIA

Alian FM Radio 96.3  - also provides content in Indigenous languages.  Operated by The Indigenous Cultural Enterprise Foundation

 

VIDEOS ON INDIGENOUS CULTURE AND LIVED EXPERIENCE

  •  Indigenous Peoples' TV - You Videos on Indigenous Taiwan Cuture 原住民族文化事業基金會 IPCF Youtube Channet  (The channel leads to an organizational website whose content is not a fully open resource. Some content may require membership). Channel owned by IPCF.org
  • Discovery Video Episode 1 臺灣部落寶藏 第1季 信仰祭儀臺灣部落寶藏Open resource

  • Discovery Video Episode 2臺灣部落寶藏 第2季 : 樂舞文化 Open resource

  • National Geographic Video - Teacher supervision required under 13 years  Open resource 
  • TW Show - Zalan: Meet the South Island. This is a multi-season TV Show on Indigenous lived experience.

Indigenous Taiwan Communities Student Presentations

Taiwan's Indigenous Communities

Directory of Libraries and Research Institutions

Know where to Look:  This short directory contains a list of the key libraries and institutions behind Taiwan research collections.

NATIONAL CENTRAL LIBRARY RESOURCES

OTHER INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS

WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE? 

We are always looking for new resources to add to this guide on Taiwan Studies. To contribute a new resource, please email Dr. Liz Warrick (warrickl) or reach the K-12 Electronic Resources team at taslib.tas.edu.tw.