Background

As one of the four ancient civilizations, China set up a system of archives collection, management and utility as early as in Shang Dynasty (17th century BC- 11th century BC). The massive excavation of Yinxu Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province form late 19th century to 1970s showed that officials were appointed to manage tortoise shells with languages in Shang Dynasty, and they became an important part of the massive bureaucratic system. In the Qin and Han dynasties, China saw the establishment of a complete archives management system, centering on the central governments and involving central and local affairs, including the emperors' routine lives, files, household registrations and land archives.

At present, China's national archives work is managed by a huge system with China's State Archives Bureau at its centre and involving archives management agencies at provincial, prefectural and county levels as well as of various sector. China's major archives include China No.1 Historical Archives (Which has a collection of more than 18 million copies or volumes of Qing Dynasty central and local government archives), Central Archives (which, attached to the central government and founded in 1962, mainly collects the archives of national significance and for ministries and commissions after 1949), China No.2 Historical Archives (which collects the archives of the Republic of China from 1912-49), China Contemporary Literature Museum and China Photo Archives.

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