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How to Search Catalogs of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Resources
Before searching the Catalogs of this collection, you need to know that you have to search Chinese, Japanese, or Korean words in alphabetic form, called "Romanization or transliteration." Romanization is the conversion of a non-Roman script, such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, into Roman script. It is regarded as the required script in North America.
Romanization represents the sound of the Chinese, Japanese, or Korean character; the same romanization may represent vastly different characters with different meanings. Thus, the following Romanization Conversion Tables provide examples of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters to distinguish the sound of the word.
For example, you need to search Chinese words, "故宮博物院". If you choose to use Pinyin Romanization Table, from the search screen, you type in "gu" and Chinese word "故" will appear. If you are not looking for "故", but sound like "故", you can also use the same romanization to search for that word because romanization is representing the sound only which can be used for many words that have the same sound of "gu". Now, you need "故", so, you pick up the romanization "gu" to continue your search, "gong"; "宮" "bo" "博" "wu" "物" "yuan" "院" and so forth.
I. Search Online Catalog of the East Asian Languages Collection
Most of libraries of the North America still have split files of Wade-Giles Romanization and Pinyin Romanization; therefore, the users are encouraged to use both Romanizations for searching Chinese materials.
-
If you are familiar with Chinese Wade-Giles romanization, you may also
need to search records by using Chinese Pinyin Romanization:
Chinese Romanization Conversion Table - Wade-Giles to Pinyin -
If you are familiar with Chinese Pinyin romanization, you may also need
to search records by using Chinese Wade-Giles Romanization:
Chinese Romanization Conversion Table - Pinyin to Wade-Giles -
If you are familiar with Chinese Zhuyin, you will need to search records
by using:
Chinese Romanization Conversion Table - Zhuyin to Pinyin -
If you know Japanese, you will need:
Japanese Romanization Conversion Table - Hepburn for Japanese -
If you know Korean, you will need:
Korean Romanization Conversion Table - McCune Reischauer for Korean
II. Search Card Catalog of the East Asian Languages Collection
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean holdings in this library (especially, the materials that were cataloged before the year 2001) can also be found from card catalogs which are located in the East Asian Language Collection area. These card catalogs have characters of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean on the card. They are divided into two sections: one is Author/Title Catalog; one is Subject Catalog.
Again, you will need to use romanization tables for searching in these card catalogs also. You use only Wade-Giles Romanization table for Chinese materials. There are Romanization Tables pasted on the top of card catalog cabinets for your references.
Author/Title Catalog:
Name of the author and the title of the books or periodicals/magazines are interfiled alphabetically by using romanization of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. The filing sequence is personal names come first (there is a "," after the last name, then first name), then the name of the book (title) or name of the organization, or name of the book series, etc. (there is no "," in the title.) See the following example for filling sequence:
- The 1st card: Li, Ai-mei
- The 2nd card: Li, Hua-chen
- The 3rd card: Li, Meng-chin
- The 4th card: Li, Ying
- The 5th card: Li Ai-mei ti jih chi
- The 6th card: Li Pai chuan chi
- The 7th card: Li tai ming jen nien pu
- The 8th card: Li yu hsin lun
- The 9th card: Liang, A-fa
- The 10th card: Liang, Pin
Subject Catalog:
All subject headings are in English, filed in alphabetic order by the first word of subject heading from A to Z. A set of "Library of Congress Subject Headings" is placed on the top of the Card Catalog cabinets in the East Asian Languages Collection area for your reference. Please also consult the page "How the resources are organized" in the section of the Common Subject Headings Related to the East Asian Studies.