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The Chinese Diary Collection contains 850 volumes of hardbound and softbound diaries, dating from 1930s to 1980s. Some volumes are filled with writing from cover to cover; some, partially filled; and some, with brief inscriptions. It includes 81 volumes by different individuals of Republican Period (1912-1949) and 95 small volumes penned by an engineer, with scientific data and personal contents. The contents recorded in the dairies are significant, for instance, a set of 20 work diaries by a mid-rank public security cadre member during and after the Cultural Revolution offers detailed history of public security operations for two decades. A set of 10 work diaries by an officer working in a ministry of the State Council in the 1980s documented the political and daily lives before and after the Tiananmen Massacre in association with the students' pro-democracy movement.

Interviews document the lives of seventeen prominent figures in the Republic of China (1911-1949). Narrators discuss military affairs, politics, national and regional governance, education, economics, culture, transportation, and other topics. Military campaigns are a major topic of the collection. Narrators discuss the operations and impacts of the Northern Expedition (1928-2928), Second Sino-Japanese War/War of Resistance (1937-1945), and Chinese Civil War (1945-1949). Narrators discuss the practical matters of governing during a period of upheaval. They also discuss the politics of the era and entities such as the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. Many narrators studied abroad in the United States and Europe. The collection gives insights into Chinese education and the experiences of Chinese nationals abroad, including observations from their travels. Several narrators worked as diplomats for the Republican government and offer insights into international affairs and world leaders of the mid-20th century.

Correspondence, subject files, manuscripts and printed materials documenting the work of C. Martin Wilbur, George Sansom Professor Emeritus of Chinese History, Columbia University. Correspondence with non-Columbia organizations includes the Institute of Pacific Relations, Far Eastern Association, INDUSCO, Council on Foreign Relations, Asia Foundation, and American Council of Learned Societies, among others. Subject files relevant to Columbia University include items pertaining to the Department of Chinese and Japanese, later renamed the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, as well as teaching files, student files and research projects directed. The manuscript files contain the notes and, in some cases, printed copies of published and unpublished works and public talks. Wilbur's writings and research concentrate on the history and politics of twentieth century China, with emphasis on the Chinese Revolution, 1920-1929, Sun Yat-sen, and communism in China. There are translations of minutes for the first and second Kuomintang Congresses, copies of documents from the Kuomintang Archives, and photographs of members of the Young China Party, Sun Yat-sen and several historical events in the 1920s. Files on fund raising efforts for the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Wellington Koo Fellowship also contain relevant correspondence. Biographical information includes a curriculum vitae (ca. 1968)

This collection includes records from the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (CIC, 工業合作社/工业合作社), China Aid Council (CAC, 美國援華會/美国援华会), and United Service to China (USC, formerly United Relief to China/URC, 美國援華聯合會/美国援华联合会/美國援華救濟聯合會/美国援华救济联合会). The records contain correspondence of individuals who participated in the cooperative and those associated with it; typewritten reports of sub-units to the parent organization; periodicals and other publications issued in Chinese by the three regional headquarters (the early ones are probably quite rare); publications in English by these headquarters and by American committees formed to aid in the movement; mounted photographs showing the work of the cooperatives and their leaders; albums of newspaper clippings on the movement, emanating from the U.S. and abroad; maps showing locations of cooperatives; pencil sketches and watercolors of cooperatives at work; and other material concerning this important organization which was largely responsible for China's ability to feed and clothe, and care for the people during the war.

Correspondence, manuscripts, lectures, notes, diaries, notebooks, reports, financial records, blueprints, photographs, and printed materials of Y.C. James Yen and the IIRR concerned with the development, sharing, and financing innovative methods of teaching, improving agriculture, health and family planning, and education in impoverished villages. Among the cataloged correspondents are: Pearl Buck, William O. Douglas, Nelson Rockefeller, and DeWitt Clinton.

Correspondence, manuscripts, documents, notes, notecards, journals, diaries, photographs, slides, memorabilia and printed materials documenting Goodrich's career in the field of Chinese language and history, as well as materials on the cultural affairs of twentieth century China. Among the cataloged correspondence are Joseph Alsop, Pearl S. Buck, Norman Cousins, Philip C. Jessup, H.H. Kung, Owen Lattimore, and Nathan Pusey. Part of the collection is arranged in Goodrich's alphabetical subject/name file and the remainder is arranged alphabetically. The correspondence is from colleagues, students, business associates, friends, etc. The subject files are on a variety of topics concerning China, the Far East, printing, medicine, the arts, and technology; material on the Chinese Civil Service Examination; associations, schools, foundations, missions and their work in the Far East.