The Materials for history and culture: characteristics and usage in the contemporary historiography on China

Abstract

The Materials for history and culture (wénshǐ zīliào) are written records of reminiscences of historical events collected all over China by national- and local-level Committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. As this unique collection of reminiscences is getting more and more accessible, it is important to conduct a critical account over these historical sources. This article discusses the origins and the evolution of the Materials and conducts a review of the past literature which employed this typology of historical source. The article suggests that, although the quality of this material is uneven and the redaction criteria often obscure, the wénshǐ zīliào are sources that deserve more attention from the historical scholarship than they have received.