Transmission Books & Microinfo Co., Ltd. (TBMC) Resources

Biographies

Contemporary Taiwan Biographical Database 臺灣當代人物誌數據庫, 1946‒1990
Contemporary Taiwan Biographical Database covers the period from 1946 to 1990, with over 80,000 entries, primarily featuring political figures. The scope of the database includes individuals from Taiwan (including the outlying islands). The database also includes people from all classes and background and from various regions without editorial bias. The records of these individuals are scattered across various books, and the data itself is often overlooked or even lost. This database collects and organizes these fragmented biographies, allowing users to quickly and effectively retrieve information.

Taiwan Biographical Archive 臺灣人物誌數據庫, 1895‒1945
Data about Taiwan’s historical figures is fragmented, inconsistent, and inaccessible. TBMC has provided a solution by constructing a biographical database with a powerful search engine. Taiwan Biographical Archive primarily focuses on figures from the Japanese colonial period, but will continue to expand its coverage to include figures from the Qing dynasty and the post-war period. The scope of the database covers individuals from Taiwan (including the Penghu Islands) with no distinction of ethnicity or gender. As the main focus is on the Japanese colonial era, a significant portion of the figures are Japanese nationals, comprising more than half of the entries. For each search result, the database provides metadata and the original images of the documents. The metadata includes basic fields such as name, career history, education, place of origin, address, date of birth, and data source, which effectively describe the content of the original document. In addition to metadata, users can also browse the full text through the original images, and verify the original source documents via the provided citations.

Daoism

Zhengtong Daozang 正統道藏
The Daoist Canon was compiled during the Ming Dynasty under the reign of the Zhengtong Emperor in 1445. It is therefore referred to as the Zhengtong Daozang. The contents of the Zhengtong Daozang are diverse, covering areas such as Astronomy, Fortune-telling, Medicine, Divination, Fu Lu (rituals and charms), Herbs, Rituals, Philosophy, and Dan Tao (alchemical practices). Over time, as Eastern and Western cultural exchanges increased and society evolved, the Zhengtong Daozang also influenced studies in various fields including Philosophy, History, Religion, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Medicine, Pharmacology, Public Health, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, and Geography.

Government Documents

Communiqué of the Taiwan Sōtokufu 台灣總督府府報資料庫, 1896‒1945
Communiqué of the Taiwan Sōtokufu was the official gazette of the Sōtokufu (the office of Japan’s colonial Governor-General), in which laws and decrees were published during the 50-year Japanese colonial occupation of Taiwan. Communiqué of the Taiwan Sōtokufu is an important source for understanding the mechanics of government and law, business, and the military under colonial rule, but also illuminates the workings of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Taiwanese government throughout the period. Learn More

Despatches from United States Consuls at Amoy 美國19-20世紀初駐廈門領事檔案, 1844‒1906
This valuable collection of microfilm documents held by the National Archives of the United States comprises 15 microfilm rolls containing government dispatches submitted by the U.S. Consulate at Amoy to the U.S. Department of State between 1844 and 1906. The collection includes information about key historical events as well as detailed records of trade between the U.S. and Taiwan, reflecting the diplomatic, commercial, and military interactions of the time. These documents provide an invaluable new perspective for Taiwan studies, offering researchers essential documents for studying the history of Taiwan, its international relations, and its development during this pivotal period.

Li Dai Hui Yao 歷代會要
Hui Yao (會要) is a type of historical work that primarily compiles the national systems, historical geography, and customs of specific dynasties. It serves as an important source for studying ancient laws, institutions, and their evolution. The content is mostly a collection of original historical materials, offering both primary and secondary sources and facilitating easy indexing and future research. The Li Dai Hui Yao collection consists of 321 volumes, all of which are reprints from the Siku Quanshu and supplement the lack of official annals and tables in the Twenty-Four Histories. The following dynasties are included in Li Dai Hui Yao: Western Han, Eastern Han, Three Kingdoms, Southern Dynasties (Song / Qi / Liang / Chen), Five Dynasties, and Ming.

The Rekidai Hōan 歷代寶案, 1424‒1867
The Rekidai Hōan (Precious Documents of Successive Generations) was compiled under the royal government of the Ryukyu Kingdom in Shuri (located in present day Okinawa Prefecture, Japan) of the diplomatic documents between Ryukyu and China, as well as its neighboring countries and trading partners at that time, including Siam (now Thailand), Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Sumatra, in the 15th and 16th centuries. These documents were written entirely in Chinese and contain detailed records of diverse types of missions from and to the Ryukyu Kingdom government and official correspondence exchanged between the country and China, such as lists of gifts given in tribute, letters sent by Ryukyu kings to imperial China and trade permits issued by the ancient Chinese government. Learn More

Newspapers

Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpō 台灣日日新報, 1898‒1944
Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpō (臺灣日日新報) was first published in 1898 and was the longest running and most widely circulated newspaper in Taiwan during the period of Japanese colonialism. TBMC’s Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpō database provides exhaustive coverage of this Japanese- and Chinese-language resource from 1898 to 1944. It also includes the sibling publications of Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpō, including the short-lived Chinese-language edition Kanbun Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpō (漢文日日新報, 1905‒1911) and its predecessor, Taiwan Shinpō (臺灣新報, 1896‒1897). Learn More

Central Daily News 中央日報全報影像, 1928‒2006
Central Daily News (中央日報) was founded in Shanghai in February 1928. After relocating several times, the newspaper’s headquarters moved to Taiwan in 1949, where it continued publishing until its closure in 2006. During its years of publication in Mainland China, the newspaper was the official mouthpiece of the Kuomintang (KMT) government and provided comprehensive coverage on politics, the economy, military matters, culture, foreign relations, law, and society. After relocating to Taiwan, Central Daily News continued to play an influential role in the media landscape, becoming a leading newspaper in Taiwan. Learn More

China Times 中國時報全報影像, 1950‒Present
China Times (中國時報), published in Taipei, Taiwan, was founded in 1950 and actively publishes daily editions. In 1960 China Times transitioned from pricing and finance information to global news coverage. China Times was acquired by Want Want Holdings Limited in 2008. In 2021, China Times became a fully digital publication. China Times is presented in full text. Metadata is available on the article level and content is searchable by title, author, and full text.

Renjian Fukan 人間副刊 (1955~2005), 1955‒2005
Renjian Fukan (Human Realm Literary Supplement) of the China Times was founded on September 16, 1955. Literary supplements are a unique feature of Chinese newspapers that were initially devised to fill up space in a newspaper’s back pages. Initially, the supplements included works from well-renowned authors and gradually evolved into a public forum for intellectuals. It provided a variety of columns on different topics and collected writings across the country to allow scholars to express their thoughts and reflections on current social issues. Learn More

Periodicals

Japanese Colonial Periodicals of Taiwan 日治時期期刊集成資料庫, 1898–1945
This database presents archives of 58 periodicals published in Taiwan during the period of Japanese colonial occupation (1895–1945). Subjects include education, finance, technology, agriculture, mining, security, medicine, transportation and art. The periodicals collected in this database offer authentic and representative materials for in-depth research on Taiwan’s history during the Japanese colonial period. Learn More

Journal of the Formosan Medical Association 百年臺灣醫學史資料庫, 1899‒1999
The Journal of the Formosan Medical Association was considered the most authoritative medical journal during the period of Japanese occupation. As the only professional medical journal during that period, the journal has special value in history and is still an important reference to tropical medicine. The main subjects covered include valuable historical documents about medicine in Taiwan, crucial studies on Taiwan medical history in the 20th century, infectious diseases in Taiwan for the first fifty years of the 20th century, and surveys on infectious diseases such as TB and Dengue fever.

Journal of National Essence 國粹學報, 1905‒1912
In 1904, during the late Qing Dynasty, a period of internal strife and external threats, various intellectual movements emerged. Among them was the “National Studies Preservation Society,” whose mission was to “invent national learning, preserve national essence, avoid sectarian bias, and refrain from party politics.” The following year the group launched the Journal of National Essence (Guocui Xuebao). The journal was published monthly and written in classical Chinese, focusing on language, literature, institutional systems, and historical figures. The journal emphasized the study of academic history and the integration of ancient and modern scholarship and its main contributors were renowned scholars of the time. The journal published a total of 82 issues and included more than 600 authoritative works on Chinese studies, along with over 400 essays by Ming and Qing scholars. Each issue was accompanied by portraits of famous historical figures and various illustrations (including rubbings, calligraphy, paintings, and natural history drawings), totaling over 600 illustrations. All told, the database contains more than 3,000 searchable entries.

The Journal of Taiwan Law 臺法月報資料庫, 1905‒1943
The Journal of Taiwan Law was first published in 1905 by the Taiwan High Court under the jurisdiction of the Taiwan Government-General (now the “High Court of the Judicial Yuan”). Its purpose was to introduce Taiwan’s laws, regulations, and rulings, serving as a resource for citation, research, and scholarly reference. Nearly a century after its publication, TBMC has faithfully restored the original materials without omissions, providing a clear representation of the development trajectory of Taiwan’s legal system. The database aims to offer an in-depth understanding of the following: the development of the legal system in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period, the transition from traditional feudal society to a Western legal system, and the comparative analysis of modern and traditional laws.

Presbyterian Messenger 使信月刊, 1850‒1947
From 1847 to 1900, the United Presbyterian Church in Scotland was very enthusiastic about overseas missionary work, with China and Manchuria being some of its primary mission fields. The official magazine of the Church of Scotland, known in Chinese as 長老教使信 or 使信月刊 (Missionary Messenger Monthly), recorded the church’s missionary history. This monthly periodical underwent multiple name changes before landing on Presbyterian Messenger (1908–1947). The periodical includes reports from various missionaries to China and Taiwan in the 19th century, detailing their work and the missionary conditions they encountered.

Taiwan Aboriginal Culture Study Resources 臺灣原住民期刊論文資料庫, 1895‒1945
Taiwan Aboriginal Culture Study Resources contains Japanese-language journal articles published between 1895 and 1945 related to the various indigenous groups of Taiwan. The database includes thirty different journals, such as The Journal of the Anthropological Society of Tokyo, Southern Folklore, Folk Taiwan, The Journal of Anthropology, and The Taiwan Association Bulletin. The indigenous groups covered in the database include the Atayal, Saisiyat, Bunun, Tsou, Rukai, Paiwan, Puyuma, Amis, Yami, Shao, and Plains Aborigines, among others. Topics discussed in the articles include physical characteristics, language, history and geography, social organization, customs, daily life, and art. These journal articles depict Taiwan’s indigenous peoples in the first half of the 20th century, offering invaluable research value.

Taiwan JIHO Database (on the Japanese Colonial Periodicals of Taiwan platform) 臺灣時報, 1898‒1945
The Taiwan JIHO is one of the longest-running and most influential journals during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. The journal covers a wide range of topics, including Taiwan’s politics, industries, agriculture, trade, transportation, military, education, judiciary, police, civil engineering, technology, crafts, and the arts, along with statistical data and essays on these subjects. It also includes works by well-known Japanese authors in Taiwan, including haiku, poetry, and novels. These materials are invaluable resources for Taiwan studies. The comprehensive content of this database provides essential historical documents that are indispensable for understanding the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan.

The Taiwan Minpao 台灣民報, 1920‒1932
Taiwan Minbao (臺灣民報) was founded by Taiwanese people for Taiwanese people, with a focus on Chinese-language civil discourse. The purpose of Taiwan Minbao was to increase public awareness and interest in current events while also helping to reacquaint the people with the use of classical Chinese. Taiwan Minbao documents various social movements in Taiwan from 1920 to 1932, such as the Taiwan Assembly Petition Movement, student movements, women’s rights movements, and cultural movements. It was also the cradle of Taiwan’s new literature.

Poetry

Chinese Poetry Collection－Cilin Guangcui 中華詩詞系列－詞林廣粹
In addition to poetry, Chinese classical literature is also rich in Ci (lyrics or song-poetry), which developed alongside poetry as a core part of Chinese literary tradition. While poetry reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty, Ci emerged during the late Tang and Five Dynasties, later becoming the dominant literary form during the Song Dynasty. Both poetry and Ci are integral to understanding the essence of Chinese classical literature. To provide a more comprehensive exploration of these forms, the Ci Lin Guang Cui database includes Ci works from the Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, totaling over 40,000 pieces. The Ci Lin Guang Cui database offers users the ability to search by full text, dynasty, author, and Ci title, and also includes a feature for browsing suggestions to enhance learning, research, and appreciation.

Chinese Poetry Collection－Cilin Shangxi 中華詩詞系列－詞林賞析
China has a long and rich history, with a diverse range of literary expressions. Among them, Tang poetry and Song Ci hold a particularly important place in the development of Chinese literature, representing the essence of Chinese literary traditions. After the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties saw the rise of Ci as a literary form, which blossomed and became the dominant form of literature in the Song Dynasty. The Cilin Shangxi database collects nearly 2,000 Ci works spanning the Five Dynasties, Tang, Song, Yuan, and Jin periods. The database invites a group of scholars and experts to provide accessible and easy-to-understand explanations of the lyrics, guiding readers into the world of Ci and allowing them to appreciate its diverse forms and styles. The database offers various search options, including unrestricted field search and field-based search, allowing users to search by author, poetry title, or full text. Additionally, the database offers a poetry browsing function, allowing users to browse works by Chinese phonetic symbols, strokes, or Pinyin indexes based on the title or author.

Chinese Poetry Collection－Criticism 中華詩詞系列－詩心賞析
The Chinese Poetry Collection—Criticism database was created with the aim of making classical poetry accessible to modern readers. This resource offers easy-to-understand critiques and reviews of over 1,500 poems, written by around twenty distinguished scholars specializing in Chinese poetry. Their refined interpretations allow contemporary readers to appreciate the beauty and depth of these ancient poems, helping them bridge the gap between the classical and modern worlds. The database is regularly updated, and users can explore the collection by searching full texts or filtering by various categories such as period, style, and author.

Chinese Poetry Collection－Shi Xin Han Xuan 中華詩詞系列－詩心瀚選
Poetry holds a cherished place in Chinese literature, regarded as a precious cultural asset that has been highly valued for millennia. From the Pre-Qin Dynasty onward, the works of famous poets have been preserved, offering a window into Chinese cultural and intellectual heritage. The Shi Xin Han Xuan database includes over 100,000 poems from the Pre-Qin, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, covering a wide range of genres such as ancient poems, regulated verse, quatrains, and music-poetry (yuefu). Each entry is accompanied by brief biographies of the poets, providing valuable historical context. The database features full-text search, as well as field-based searches (such as dynasties, poetic forms, and authors), and includes a browsing tips feature to assist readers in exploring and appreciating these works.

Li Dai Fu Hui 歷代賦彙
The Li Dai Fu Hui database consists of 184 volumes of the literary form fu (賦), which lies between poetry and prose. Fu originated in the pre-Qin period and reached its peak during the Han dynasty. Li Dai Fu Hui was compiled in the 45th year of the Kangxi era (1706) by Chen Yuanlong, a grand councilor of the Kangxi Emperor and consists of a total of 184 volumes. It remains one of the best and most comprehensive collections of fu literature from all dynasties to this day. The Li Dai Fu Hui databases comprises four styles of verse: Zheng Ji (正集, includes works in the narrative style, 3,042 pieces); Wai Ji (外集, includes works expressing emotions and aspirations, 423 pieces); Yi Ju (逸句, collection of 117 exceptional lines); and Bu Yi (補遺, supplementary collection of 369 pieces).

Li Dai Shi Hua 歷代詩話
The Li Dai Shi Hua database presents ancient Shi Hua, discursive texts on poets and poetry criticism. Li Dai Shi Hua is made up of the print edition from the fifth year of the Republic of China (1916), which comprises the three major Shi Hua works:

• Lidai Shihua by He Wenhuan: This work includes 27 collections of poetry discussions from the Liang, Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, totaling 57 volumes. An additional 1 volume of notes is included, compiling the specific viewpoints of various poetry critics, making it easier for future researchers to reference.
• Lidai Shihua Xubian by Ding Fubao: This is a supplement to He Wenhuan’s Lidai Shihua, containing 29 additional collections of poetry discussions from the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. These texts focus on works related to poetic theory, poetic techniques, and the rules of poetry. It also includes several rare shihua texts, such as the Guanglin Shihua (觀林詩話), a collection preserved by the Tianyi Pavilion.
• Qing Shihua by Ding Fubao: Qing Shihua includes 43 collections of poetry discussions by Qing dynasty authors, featuring important representative works such as Wang Fuzhi’s Jiangzhai Shihua (薑齋詩話), Wang Shizhen’s Yuyang Shihua (漁洋詩話), Ye Xian’s Yuanshi (原詩), and Shen Deqian’s Shuoshi Zuiyu (說詩晬語), among others. These are key texts for understanding Qing dynasty poetry.

Taiwanese Classic Poetry Collection 全台詩博覽資料庫
The Taiwanese Classic Poetry Collection presents a compendium of specifically Taiwanese poetry from the period of Japanese colonial occupation (1895-1945). It includes collections of poetry from nearly 100 poets’ clubs and 1,000 individual poets, with a total of over 28,000 poems and 27 million words. The poems are compiled from a variety of source publications, including newspapers and journals. The poems cover a variety of genres: modern poetry, classic poetry, and lyric poetry. Learn More

Survey

The Collection of Documents on Taiwan 臺灣文獻匯刊 電子版
The Collection of Documents on Taiwan, co-published by Jiuzhou Press and Xiamen University Press, is a monumental work resulting from nearly 10 years of efforts by experts and scholars from the College of Humanities at Xiamen University and the Fujian-Taiwan Regional Research Center at Fujian Normal University. This collection extensively gathers historical documents on Taiwan from various libraries, archives, and private organizations across Mainland China. The collection includes over 600 titles and pieces of personal writings, along with local historical records, which contain nearly 100 million Chinese characters. It encompasses rare manuscripts, sole copies, and valuable editions that illustrate the deep historical and cultural ties between Taiwan and Mainland China. The collection also includes family trees that span both Taiwan and Mainland China. Each volume includes a brief introduction by the editor-in-chief and project editor about the document’s origins and historical significance. The Collection of Documents on Taiwan is one of the most comprehensive and significant sets of literature ever published for research on Taiwan’s history and culture.

Taiwan Chronicle 臺灣日誌資料庫, 1895‒1945
The Taiwan Chronicle captures the period of Japanese rule in Taiwan (1895‒1945) through the collection of official and private newspapers, periodicals, general books, historical reviews of specific topics, and official histories. There are more than 50 data sources with more than 50,000 entries. Professional editors compiled a companion chronology of major events. Since the original materials are mainly publications from the Japanese occupation period, most of the content is in Japanese, reporting events with contemporary tone and terms. Unlike post-war publications, the description of events may not match what people think today. However, precisely because it is faithful to the original material, it has higher value for historical research.

Taiwan Image Explorer: Georeferenced Historical Photographs 1895‒1945 台灣百年寫真GIS資料庫, 1895‒1945
The Taiwan Photo Gallery/GIS Database is a collection of 25,000 photographs from 1895 to 1945. The Taiwan Photo Gallery/GIS Database offers a dynamic and innovative way to study Taiwan’s history through the lens of photography and modern technology. By combining historical imagery with GIS mapping, the project provides a more immersive and interactive learning experience, making it an invaluable resource for researchers, students, and anyone interested in the historical development of Taiwan.

The Taiwan Literature Series 臺灣文獻叢刊數據庫, 1513‒1944
The Taiwan Literature Series is a digitized and indexed reformatting of 309 rare and out-of-print volumes by the same name that cover a time span from Tang Dynasty to the Japanese occupation period. These volumes contain writings related to Taiwan from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties, and the Japanese colonial period. Also included are Taiwan’s local gazetteers, historical materials from the Ming Zheng period, Qing dynasty archives, private writings, and personal collections. It also encompasses materials on the history of Taiwan from the Southern Ming period, as well as documents from the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan related to Taiwan’s history. This collection is a comprehensive compilation of documents covering Taiwan’s history, geography, customs, social conditions, politics, economy, society, culture, and legal system. The original volumes are preserved in major libraries around the world. Each index has been meticulously edited by scholars.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Ben Cao Gang Mu 本草綱目
The Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) is a monumental work completed by the great Ming Dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen after nearly thirty years of dedicated study of numerous medical texts. While inheriting his family’s medical practice, he became aware of the numerous errors in existing materia medica texts. As a result, he undertook a comprehensive review, correction, and supplementation of ancient herbal texts, offering many innovative ideas and insights. The Compendium of Materia Medica systematically summarizes all the pharmacological achievements up to the Ming Dynasty. Its profound and extensive content remains one of the most important works in the field of materia medica both domestically and internationally. The work not only covers pharmacology but also touches on subjects such as astronomy, geology, chemistry, and botany, making it a true encyclopedia of ancient China.

The Compendium of Materia Medica consists of fifty-two volumes. Volumes one and two provide an introduction to materia medica; volumes three and four cover medicines for the treatment of common diseases; from volume five to volume twelve, it categorizes 1,892 medicinal substances into sixteen divisions and sixty categories. The book contains over 10,000 prescriptions and more than a thousand illustrations. Each entry is systematically divided into sections such as explanation of the name, classification, corrections, processing methods, properties, indications, and accompanying prescriptions, making it highly organized and comprehensive.