[en] During the long process of Tibet and other Tibetan settlements' historical development, a large number of archives related to Tibet and Tibetan affairs have been built, mainly in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, but especially the latter. These files have been carefully preserved in several Chinese national historical archives, as well as in other provincial archives and libraries in Tibet Autonomous Region, Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan.The First Historical Archives of China houses more than 30,000 archives on Tibet and Tibetan affairs during the Qing Dynasty. Many of them are administrative documents issued by the central government to Tibet and the areas inhabited by Tibetans, including imperial edicts and other governing orders issued by the emperors to Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas and senior officers. There are also many reports and memorials to the emperors on their dealings with Tibet and Tibetan affairs, which were submitted by all the previous Great Living Buddhas, Amban of Tibet, Xining, Kulun, as well as the Grand Council, Cabinet, Li Fan Yuan and governors from all over the country. Archives were formed by the relevant bureaus' and provide records of major Tibetan affairs as well as the economic, social and cultural context in Tibet and areas inhabited by Tibetans. During 1622 to 1911, these archives were mainly written in Chinese and Manchu, while a few of them were written in Tibetan and Mongolian.In the Second Historical Archives of China, more than 30,000 Tibet and Tibetan affairs archives were created from 1888 (the 14th year of Qing Emperor Guangxu) to 1949. They mainly represent files exchanged between the central government (including its subordinate departments) and Kashag, Dalai Lama, Panchen Erdene, and other Tibetan settlements such as Sichuan, Xikang, Qinghai and Gansu provinces. They record and reflect the central government's policies and specific measures of governing Tibet during that period. Furthermore, they also document the political, economic, religious, cultural, educational and social development of Tibetan areas adjacent to Tibet in Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces.The archives of modern Tibet and Tibetan affairs collected in Tibet are mainly concentrated in the archives of Tibet Autonomous Region, Lhasa, Xigaze, Linzhi, Shannan, Ali, Naqu, Changdu and other counties. Many are also kept in major temples. Among them, the Tibet Autonomous archives conserves the largest and most important archives. It contains more than 3 million volumes of documents that belonged to the old regime, and are mainly in Tibetan. They include: Tibet's administrative divisions, the exercise of sovereignty over Tibet by the National Government, religious affairs, major historic events in Tibet, and Tibetan feudal serfdom, the judicial system, social conditions, economic conditions related to agriculture, animal husbandry and handicrafts, mineral resources, as well as Tibet's exchanges with non-Tibetan Chinese regions.The historical documents in Sichuan Tibetan areas in the Republic of China are mainly kept in the provincial archives of Sichuan and Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture's archives, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Kangding, Dege, Batang, Marcand, Muli, Litang, Xiangcheng Luhuo, Daocheng, etc. Among them, are the Xikang Tibet archives. They are preserved in the Sichuan Provincial Archives and include more than 10,000 documents. They were created between 1388 (the 21st year of Ming Hongwu) and 1949. The historical archives in the Yunnan Tibetan areas are mainly kept in the county archives, libraries and cultural centres, public security bureaus and Diqing prefectural archives, as well as the temples of Gardan Songzanlin and East Chikurinji. About 11,300 files, mostly compiled in the Republic of China, record the policies of the central government and the Yunnan local government towards Tibetans and reflect their effective management and rule in Yunnan. They cover political, military, economic, cultural aspects, as well as the living conditions of Tibetan compatriots and their relationship to various ethnic groups during this historical period.The archives of modern Tibetan affairs in Gansu Province are collected in various archives, libraries, cultural centres and many Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Gansu Province. Most of them are stored in Gansu Provincial Archives, Gansu Provincial Library, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Archives, Xiahe County Archives, Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County Archives and Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefectural Archives. Approximately 8,000 documents make up these archives. Their content primarily includes documents related to state administration, Kuomintang party affairs, civil affairs, administration, household administration, territory, land administration, customs, ethnic minorities, tribes, chieftains, religion, temples, police administration, security, opium banning, society, construction, personnel systems, supervision, the judiciary, military affairs, the economy, culture, education, sanitation, sports activities and famous people, outlining all the aspects of social development.The archives of Tibet and Tibetan affairs in Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China in Qinghai Province are mainly kept in Qinghai Provincial Archives, which were built from 1724 (the 2nd year of Qing Yongzheng ) to 1949. These historical materials reflect and record the basic situation of Tibetan areas in Qinghai Province during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China in terms of politics, economics, military affairs, the judiciary, culture, religion, ethnic, relations, Qinghai-Tibet relations, Qinghai-Aba area relations, Qinghai‑Labrang area relations, etc. They also record more than 200 years of policies in Qinghai Tibetan areas during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, as well as the history of economic life, development, evolution of Tibetan compatriots and various ethnic relations. In order to better the development and utilisation of Tibet and Tibetan affairs for the purpose of academic research, the archives are stored in various domestic preservation institutions. They have been actively compiled and catalogues of relevant archives as well as a compilation of special archives have been published with the coordination and support of the China Tibetology Research Center. The publications mainly include The Historical Materials Catalogue Series of Tibet and Tibetan Affairs Archives (8 volumes); Compilation of Historical Records on the Relationship between Local and Central Tibetan Government since the Yuan Dynasty (7 volumes); Selected Records of the 13th Dalai Lama in the Late Qing Dynasty; Selected Records of the 9th Panchen Lama's Parinirvana Rites and the 10th Panchen Lama's Enthronement; Compilation of the 13th Dalai Lama's Parinirvana Rites & the 14th Dalai Lama's Reincarnation and Enthronement; Selected Records of the 9th Panchen Lama's Activities in Interior Areas and Blocked Return to Tibet; Selected Records of Yatung Customs in Tibet, Selected Records of Tibet and Tibetan Economic Development and Construction in the Period of the Republic of China and Compilation of Tibet and Tibetan Affairs Preserved in the Second Historical Archives of China, etc. This series of archival compilations and publications has played an important role in promoting international Tibetology research.

[fr] Au cours du long processus du développement historique du Tibet et d'autres régions où se rassemblèrent les Tibétains (c'est‑à‑dire, une partie des préfectures, villes et districts des provinces Sichuan, Qinghai et Gansu), un nombre considérable d'archives relatives au Tibet et aux affaires tibétaines ont été constituées, principalement sous la dynastie des Qing et la République de Chine. Ces corpus sont conservés avec grand soin dans plusieurs dépôts d'archives historiques nationaux de Chine, des dépôts d'archives provinciaux et des bibliothèques de la Région autonome du Tibet, du Sichuan, du Qinghai, du Gansu et du Yunnan. Cette notice présente de manière systématique la quantité et le contenu principal des documents relatifs au Tibet et aux affaires tibétaines de la période qui va de 1840 à 1949, en particulier la période de la République de Chine, et qui sont conservés dans le Premier dépôt des archives historiques de Chine, le Deuxième dépôt des archives historiques de Chine, les Archives de la Région autonome du Tibet, les dépôts d'archives de la province du Sichuan, d'une partie de ses préfectures, villes et districts ; les dépôts d'archives et les bibliothèques dépendants de la province du Gansu ; le dépôt d'archives provincial du Qinghai ; et les dépôts d'archives de la préfecture autonome des Tibétains Diqing du Yunnan, ainsi que de ses districts. En outre, la présente notice donne aussi des détails sur les catalogues archivistiques et les collections spéciales compilées et éditées par les dépôts et les bibliothèques ci-dessus nommés. J'espère que cette notice fournira des références servant à renforcer les études historiographiques sur le Tibet, ainsi que d'autres régions où se rassemblèrent les Tibétains, et sur les relations entre le gouvernement central et le gouvernement local tibétain dans la Chine moderne.