Title: Autobiography of a Chinese City: The History of Harbin in the Mirror of the Official City Gazetteer
Abstract: In 1980 China embarked on a huge project of compiling thousands of volumes of "New Gazetteers" -thus reviving a unique Chinese tradition from imperial times for writing local history in the particular gazetteer moldcovering all of China's modern and contemporary history as it has unfolded at the levels of provinces, cities and counties.In the decades that have followed, more than 100,000 individuals have been involved in this great undertaking, which has now become a well-established branch of government work at all levels.This article examines the evolution of gazetteer work in the North-eastern city of Harbin as well as its products.In Harbin, the gazetteer project has seen many twists and turns: there have been periods of enthusiastic advance as well as recurring crises, and the direction of work has seen dramatic reversals.The rocky course of gazetteer work in Harbin is partly a