The First Historical Archives of China

The First Historical Archives of China (hereinafter referred to as the First Historical Archives), established in 1925, is a central-level state archive specializing in the collection and management of archives formed by the central agencies of the Ming and Qing dynasties and previous dynasties, the first professional archival institution of modern significance in the history of China, and an important venue for the world's understanding of, and study of, Chinese history.
The collection of Ming and Qing dynasty archives consists of 77 complete files, totaling more than 10 million items, ranking among the top of the world's historical archive collections for the same period, and is regarded as one of the "Four Great Discoveries" of modern ancient documents, along with the Yinxu oracle bones, the Dunhuang scriptures, and the Juyin Hanjian.