| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Archives are preserved records of human activities. An account of Chinese archival development is as long as the written records of the Chinese history. Oracle bones, bronze ware, and wood and bamboo strips are the three most important recording forms of the early Chinese civilization, as they represented three major stages of archival development in China. Early Chinese archival documents were exclusively administrative records of the state. The basic guiding principles of archival organization throughout ancient China were the essential, imperial orders of the feudal society. This article presents a brief account of the Chinese imperial archives and its administration from the beginning of the Chinese civilization to the end of the Qing Dynasty, the last empire in the Chinese history. |
