History of the Fairbank Center

Founded in 1955 by Professor John King Fairbank, the Fairbank Center has been the home for China Studies at Harvard for over 70 years.

The Fairbank Center was founded in 1955 by Professor John King Fairbank, a leading scholar in modern and contemporary China studies. The Center was originally called the Center for East Asian Research. Under Professor Fairbank’s leadership, the Center took an active role in promoting the study of modern and contemporary China from a social science perspective. At the time, this focus marked a sharp departure from the field of Sinology, which had emphasized the study of texts from a humanistic perspective.

Founding Director Professor John King Fairbank. Image: Harvard University, Radcliffe Archives

The Center for East Asian Research was renamed as the John K. Fairbank Center for East Asian Research following Professor Fairbank’s retirement, in honor of his signal contributions to China studies through his teaching and publications. In 2007, after institutes for Japan studies and Korea studies had been established at Harvard, the Fairbank Center was renamed to show its strength in Chinese Studies.

H. C. Fung Library

**Calligraphy by Li Honglin, on display in the Fung Library**

Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies Library Collection

In 1961, the Fairbank Center established its own library of social science materials focusing on the rise of the Chinese Communist Party, and contemporary China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In 2005 the Fairbank Center Collection moved into the H.C. Fung Library.

This unique collection of materials, under the direction of librarian Nancy Hearst and with the assistance of Charlotte Cotter, is an invaluable resource to the community of China scholars. Specializing in difficult-to-find Chinese-language publications, including statistical sources and unpublished documents, these materials complement other collections at Harvard in the field of Chinese Studies. The library currently holds approximately 30,000 volumes, about half of which are in Chinese.

The Fung Library brings together the libraries of the former Coolidge Hall, including the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies Library, the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies Library, under the aegis of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Holdings focus on international politics, foreign relations, foreign policy, economics, sociology, and political science of the respective areas and regions.

Available Resources

The Fung Library Fairbank Collection annually acquires a wide range of publications, documents, and other materials previously unavailable to the West. In recent years, the library has made notable advances in making research materials available for the benefit of faculty, students, and researchers. Acquisitions, obtained primarily during trips to Beijing by the librarian, continue to reflect the patron-focused responsiveness that has always been a hallmark of the collection.

The collection also keeps up-to-date with subscriptions to 150 periodicals and newspapers in Chinese and English for use by researchers. The entire collection is also searchable online.

See the library’s latest acquisitions from Winter 2024, Winter 2025, Fall 2025, and Winter 2026.

Fairbank Center logo

AboutInternational China Studies Events Clearing-house

In spring 2020, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, China Studies around the world moved online. One unanticipated consequence of this unfortunate situation is that it has become possible to attend events regardless of one’s location. The International China Studies Events Clearing-house has been created to share information about upcoming online events with the broader China studies community. The Clearing-house is maintained by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University. It was built by Kwok-Leong Tang, Digital China Fellow at the Fairbank Center. We rely on our colleagues around the world to include their upcoming events; the catalog is not intended to be comprehensive. The Fairbank Center provides this clearing-house as a service to the field. We do not take responsibility for any of the events listed here, and unfortunately cannot respond to queries. Please contact the organizer of the specific event directly. We hope you find this catalog helpful.

國際中國研究活動資訊交換中心緣起

庚子年（2020）春，大疫流行，全球各地的中國研究活動紛紛轉移網上。如今參加活動不再受地域所限，亦屬不幸中始料不及的結果。國際中國研究網上活動資訊交換中心旨在與廣大的中國研究社群分享即將舉辦的活動。本網站由哈佛大學費正清中國研究中心維護，數碼中國研究員鄧國亮建置。我們有賴世界各地的同行提供活動資訊，但本目錄並不以無所不包爲目標。本網站乃費正清中國研究中心為中國研究同寅所提供之服務，本中心對所刊登之活動並無任何責任，亦不會回應任何活動查詢。如對活動有所疑問，請直接與活動主辦人聯絡。我們希望本目錄爲您帶來便利。

1800s: Establishing Transpacific Ties

*Ge Kunhua (1838-1882), the first Chinese language instructor at Harvard University. Image: Harvard University Archives.*

1879: Ge Kunhua (戈鯤化) is appointed the first Chinese language instructor at Harvard at the invitation of Francis P. Knight and Harvard President Charles William Eliot. At the height of the Chinese Educational Mission, Ge — a little-known China Studies scholar in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province —became the first native Chinese speaker to teach Chinese in America.

详细介绍

Founded in 1955 by Professor John King Fairbank, the Fairbank Center has been the home for China Studies at Harvard for over 70 years.

Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies Library Collection

Available Resources

AboutInternational China Studies Events Clearing-house

國際中國研究活動資訊交換中心緣起

1800s: Establishing Transpacific Ties

Harvard has a wide variety of programs for students, faculty, and the public on China and Chinese Studies.

Anthropology and Archaeology

Art History

Digital China

Economy

Environment

Film and Media

Gender

Government

Health

History

Inner Asia

International Relations

Journalism

Language and Linguistics

Law

Literature

Religion

Science and Technology

Sociology

Taiwan Studies

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