This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
This collection contains typescript news releases in English that were produced by the CIC from 1938. As the CIC was a propaganda office, the reports unerringly paint China's economic and military situations in a favorable light, while criticizing and undermining the Japanese war effort. Reports of Japanese war crimes and the plight of Chinese refugees dominate the pages, interspersed with addresses from Jiang Jieshi and Song Meiling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek). Stories involving missionaries and foreign countries also figure prominently. Also included are topical materials such as reports, original and copied correspondence, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and bulletins that deal with Japanese war crimes, missionaries, China Information Service, and other efforts during the time frame. The titles of the folders are original.
China Information Committee records, 1937 -- 1939
This series contains typescript news releases in English that were produced by the CIC from 1938. As the CIC was a propaganda office, the reports unerringly paint China's economic and military situations in a favorable light, while criticizing and undermining the Japanese war effort. Reports of Japanese war crimes and the plight of Chinese refugees dominate the pages, interspersed with addresses from Jiang Jieshi and Song Meiling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek). Stories involving missionaries and foreign countries also figure prominently. Also included are topical materials such as reports, original and copied correspondence, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and bulletins that deal with Japanese war crimes, missionaries, China Information Service, and other efforts during the time frame. The titles of the folders are original.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL6, China
This collection is organized in one series arranged roughly chronologically.
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.
Item description, MRL 6: China Information Committee records, 1937-1939, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Records of the China Information Committee, 1941 (HR125), Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
Several individual issues are lacking in the series, though the only wide gap in coverage appears at the very end of the collection, between nos. 309 and 359. The Burke Library periodicals collection has nos. 305 (Jan. 3, 1939) through 415 (May 13, 1939), also with a few individual issues lacking [CLIO entry]. The MRL Pamphlets collection at The Burke Library contains a few additional publications that were produced by the CIC. These can be traced through the Columbia University Libraries catalog.
Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. As the contents were very fragile and acidic, the entire collection was photocopied on to acid-free paper. In 2014, the collection was updated as part of a grant funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. At this time, a number of records were added to the collection. As they were not included in the original collection, these records have been kept separate and are available in box 3. The finding aid was created by Gregory Adam Scott in 2010, updated by Brigette Kamsler in 2014 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2022.
2022-03-15 PDF converted to EAD and description updated by Leah Edelman.
The China Information Committee 中國情報委員會 was established in late 1937 as part of the newly-formed Chinese Ministry of Information, an organ of the Chinese Nationalist Party (guomindang 國民黨). Its purpose was to produce propaganda for a foreign audience regarding the ongoing hostilities between China and Japan. The organization was directly controlled by Jiang Jieshi 蔣介石 (Chiang Kai-shek), the chairman of the Nationalist government. The main offices of the CIC were initially located in Shanghai, but with the outbreak of war with Japan they were moves first to Nanjing, then followed the government to Hankou 漢口, Changsha 長沙, and finally to Chongqing 重慶 in late 1938. It also had branch offices in Hong Kong, and in several foreign countries. The CIC was first supervised by Zeng Xubai 曾虛白 (Tseng Hsu-pai), 1895 - 1994, a graduate of St. John's University 聖約翰大學 in Shanghai 上海. From 1937 to 1945, the CIC published numerous pamphlets and books in English to publicize China's war with Japan and to attract the support of foreign nations. For a short time they operated a radio station, XTJ, in Hankou. Note that this committee is not to be confused with the New China Information Committee, which was a propaganda organ of the Chinese Communist Party (gongchandang 共產黨).
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
| Name | ||
|---|---|---|
| China. Xing zheng yuan. Xin wen ju | CLIO Catalog | ArchiveGRID |
| Place | ||
| China | CLIO Catalog | ArchiveGRID |
| Subject | ||
| Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945 -- Propaganda -- Sources | CLIO Catalog | ArchiveGRID |