China Monographic Serials

A collection of irregularly published literature from China

China Monographic Serials (CMSD) is the first and only full-text database of irregularly published Chinese academic literature. In the gray area between journals and book- or reference-like resources, these publications contain high-quality, peer-reviewed research. Offered via the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) platform, CMSD presents a comprehensive collection of high-level content written by experts who are driving the development of research in their respective fields. Dating back to 1979, CMSD contains over 367,000 serials.

Serials in CMSD are organized by volume, year, issue and other bibliographic information, while CNKI’s Knowledge Network Node enables discovery of related content with subject trees, citation networks, and related literature tools.


China Monographic Serials is offered through East View’s China Research Gateway.
Launched in 2022, China Research Gateway (CRG) transforms library access to Chinese resources by combining multiple databases into one package, supported by an accessible and user-friendly English-language portal. To learn more about CRG, please visit the CRG home page.

Monographic Serials

Key Stats

  • Archive: 1979-present
  • Language: Chinese with English interface
  • Country: China
  • Number of Titles: over 950
  • Frequency: Daily updates
  • Format: Full text, PDF or HTML
  • Producer: Tongfang Knowledge Network Ltd.
  • Platform: CNKI (TKN)

CMSD Content

CMSD includes 965 titles and nearly 330,000 full-text articles since 1979, covering over 99% of all monographic serials in China.

Publications in CMSD are categorized according to the standard CNKI subject series:

Science and Technology Titles

  • Physics/Astronomy/Mathematics (Series A)
  • Chemistry/Metallurgy (Series B)
  • Industrial Technology/Engineering (Series C)
  • Agriculture (Series D)
  • Medicine/Health (Series E)
  • Electronics/Information Science (Series I)

Social Science and Humanities Titles

  • Literature/History/Philosophy (Series F)
  • Politics/Military Affairs/Law (Series G)
  • Education/Social Sciences (Series H)
  • Economics/Management (Series J)

Users can search multiple fields, including subject, title, keywords, abstract, author, first author, institution, journal title, reference, full text, year, issue, fund, China Library Classification (CLC) code, ISSN and CN.

CMSD Features

  • Most of the publishers of the journals included in CMSD are higher education colleges, universities and academic institutions, which have high academic qualities and publish excellent papers, with strong expert knowledge and leading academic researchers in each subject area. This includes “985 Project” and “211 Project” universities (contributing over 40% of total publications) and professional sci-tech research and industrial institutes.
  • Publications are mostly edited by authors who have great academic achievements in universities and research institutes with high reputation and attainments in their own fields of study.
  • Each journal has an ISBN and is subjected to peer reviews, which reflects the latest research results of various disciplines.
  • An ideal resource for researchers, teachers and students of various fields in colleges and universities; professional personnel and employees in various industries; public libraries; government departments and other support departments; experts, scholars and medical staff from various specialized hospitals.
About China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)

CNKI is the world’s most comprehensive online resource for accessing China’s intellectual output. This powerful platform is the product of Tongfang Knowledge Network, Beijing, and encompasses academic journals, dissertations, conference papers, news, and many other resources that put the knowledge of China in the sciences and humanities at your fingertips. With tens of millions of articles and growing every day, CNKI is a foundation for any serious research on China. CNKI is hosted in the United States by East View and updated daily.

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