Many professors are sympathetic to the cost of textbooks. If you are taking "History 201: Imperial China," check your course management system (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle).
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This sometimes returns official, legal copies hosted on .edu domains. Many professors are sympathetic to the cost of textbooks
Do not download or share copyrighted PDFs from unauthorized sources. If a specific edition is in copyright, obtain it through purchase, a library loan, or the publisher’s authorized platforms. This sometimes returns official, legal copies hosted on
Suppose you cannot access the Ebrey sourcebook legally for free. In that case, several open-access resources replicate its function perfectly.
| Resource Name | What it offers | Access | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Chinese Text Project (ctext.org) | The largest free database of pre-modern Chinese texts in translation. Contains the Analects, Mencius, Records of the Grand Historian, and legal codes. | 100% Free, No Login | | Asia for Educators (Columbia University) | Primary source excerpts with discussion questions. Designed for high school and college. | Free PDF Downloads | | MIT OpenCourseWare (21G.104) | Syllabus for "Chinese Popular Culture." Links to free PDF readings that overlap with Ebrey’s book. | Free | | Library of Congress (Asian Division) | Digital scans of rare Chinese manuscripts and translations from the 19th century. | Public Domain (Free) |
Using ctext.org combined with a modern historical overview from Wikipedia or the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy can substitute for 80% of Ebrey’s sourcebook.