East Asia

We have rich collections of material in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Manchu and Mongolian including manuscripts, printed books, periodicals, sound recordings, maps, newspapers and archives.

Collection guides

Chinese collection
Includes over 100,000 printed books and 2,500 periodical titles in Chinese
Japanese collection
Material from the 8th century to the present
Korean collection
Historical texts and contemporary publications
Mongolian collection
Thousands of items from the Mongolian Republic, China and Russia
Manchu collection
Manuscripts, woodblock prints and works relating to the Qing dynasty
Stein collection
Over 45,000 items collected by Sir Marc Aurel Stein

View all related guides

Help

Subjects

Maps

The British Library collection of maps, plans and views is one of the largest in the world, numbering some 4.5 million

Southeast Asia

Manuscripts and publications in Southeast Asian languages

Visual arts

Our visual arts collections include paintings, drawings, prints and photographs.

Philately

Stamps and postal history items from around the world

Readers at desks in the Asian and African Reading Room

Asian & African Studies Reading Room

Find information on the shelves
Access online databases and electronic books and journals
Order collection items to the Reading Room via our catalogues

If you need help, just ask our Information Specialists at the Reference Enquiry desk or contact the Asian & African Studies Reference Team.

We offer a range of free Reader sessions and 1-2-1 consultations to help you make the best use of the Library's collections.

You’ll need a Reader Pass

Mon: 10.00 – 17.00
Tue – Sat: 09.30 – 17.00
Sun & English Public Holidays: closed

Opening hours for all Reading Rooms

Blog posts

The Story of Inabe no Suminawa: Master Craftsman of Hida

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Classic literature often brings us the m...

Beneath the glitter: Kinzan emaki, inside the gold mines of Sado

Monday, July 11, 2022

Amongst the many gilded books and manusc...

Sisters from the shadows - Lady Akikonomu

Monday, September 6, 2021

This occasional series of blog posts wil...

How to Digitise Scrolls: A Step-by-Step Guide from the Lotus Sutra Project

Monday, August 2, 2021

Jon Nicholls, Senior Imaging Technician, digitising a scroll on the Lotus Sutra Project. Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project The International Dunhuang Project (IDP) is an international collaborative project based at the British Library and with centres around the world. The...