I.C. INTRODUCTIONS TO THE STUDY OF SUNG HISTORY

The three Japanese studies listed below are essential introductions to the primary sources, references tools, and major secondary works for the study of Sung history.

Sudō Yoshiyuki's 周藤吉之 essay on the Five Dynasties and Sung periods in:

Chikusa Masaaki's 竺沙雅章 wrote the chapter on sources for Song studies in the following volume:

An English translation of this essay, by Kenneth Chase, was published in the second edition of Research Tools for the Study of Sung History (Albany, NY: Journal of Sung-Yuan Studies, 1996).

Of particular value for social and economic history are Yanagida Setsuko's 柳田節子 and Ihara Hiroshi's 伊原弘 essays on the sources for Sung history and Chinese and Japanese studies, in

The following guide is modeled on the work edited by Yamane. It includes Chinese translations of the relevant chapters in that work, and supplements critical reviews of scholarship produced in Taiwan and Hong Kong between roughly 1950 and 1985.

Also note Hasegawa's account of postwar Japanese Sung studies:

which cites the major reference works compiled by Japanese scholars and their studies of the examination and school system, bureaucratic system, and shih-ta-fu class.

This edited volume contains a chapter introducing the most important secondary scholarship and the main historical resources for research in Five Dynasties and Song China. The focus is on Japanese research, but the compilers also include references to modern Chinese editions and reference works. There is a bibliography in the back. Apart from the main chronological chapters, there are also three separate sections on catalogs, epigraphy, and geography.

The multi-volume series on Chu Hsi school Neo-Confucianism, the Shushigaku taikei includes a one-volume introduction to the sources for Chu Hsi studies:

Finally, note Fang Hao's discussion of 60 important primary sources:

and the discussion of several major primary sources in the bibliography of

For a recent introduction to major primary sources and reference tools, see:

This article was originally published in 1989, but went through an update in 2003. The first part reviews major sources in Song history such as Song shi, Song huiyao, Sanchao Bei Meng huibian, Jianyan yilai xinian yao lu etc. and lists research tools prepared for each of them. The list is somewhat outdated.
The second part lists research tools in Song history of broader scope. Only print materials are discussed; new electronic resources are not included.

The following article lists the major general histories of the Song period written in China and Taiwan. Even though it focuses on Zhang Qifan’s Songdai shi, it also serves as a brief introduction to changing approaches in the writing of general Song histories:

Take note of the following excellent introduction to Yuan studies:

This reviews Yuan historical studies, abstracts scholarship in many different fields, and introduces primary sources, reference works, and research tools. There are indexes to secondary scholarship in Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and European languages.