Bulletin

Issue: July 2004

News

Agreement to publish unique Chinese archive

The Vice-Chancellor of La Trobe University, Professor Michael Osborne, has signed a unique agreement for the publication of the Chinese archive on Sino-British Relations between 1862 and 1911.

The agreement is between La Trobe, Peking University, and the First Historical Archive of China. It provides for the publication of the key documents in the archive in four volumes plus an interpretative, historical study.

The records in question are stored in the Archive of the Forbidden City in Beijing and have not been available for study hitherto. The agreement was signed on 15 June, 2004, in the ceremonial hall of Peking University.

Professor Osborne said that the agreement was a very exciting initiative which flowed from the close relationship that La Trobe had established with Peking University, which is widely regarded as China's premier university.

'The period in question is a particularly interesting one', he said, 'witnessing the decline and fall of the Qing Dynasty and widespread interference in China by the then major powers, including Britain.'

There will be both English and Chinese versions of the five volumes. The publication committee will include representatives from the three parties involved. Professor Osborne will serve along with distinguished historian, Professor Alan Frost and Dr Pei Likun, Head of the University's China Office.

Professor Osborne said: 'This project is a significant one which will advance our knowledge of a key period in Chinese history and illustrate in particular the policies and role of Britain in the Far East.'

Other volumes are planned to cover the diplomatic relations between China and France, Germany, Russia, the USA and Japan.

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