The first inscriptions on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register were made in 1997.[1] [2] By creating a compendium of the world’s documentary heritage, including manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, library and archive holdings,[3] the program aims to promote the exchange of information among experts and raise resources for the preservation, digitization, and dissemination of documentary materials.[4] As of December 2018, 429 main documentary heritages had been inscribed in the Register, with 116 of these from Asia and the Pacific.[5]
The Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific, known as MOWCAP, is a regional committee of UNESCO's global programme.[6]
Items listed below are part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Registry, but not a regional list created by MOWCAP, nor made up of national lists, although such lists have been envisioned.[7]
| Documentary heritage | Country/Territory | Custodian(s), Location(s) | Year inscribed | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Endeavour Journal of James Cook | Australia | National Library of Australia, Canberra-35.2966°N 149.1298°W | 2001 | [8] | |
| The Mabo Case Manuscripts | Australia | National Library of Australia, Canberra-35.2966°N 149.1298°W | 2001 | [9] | |
| The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) | Australia | National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra-35.2832°N 149.1214°W | 2007 | [10] | |
| Australia |
| 2007 | [11] | ||
| Mountford-Sheard Collection | Australia | State Library of South Australia, Adelaide-34.9209°N 138.6022°W | 2008 | [12] [13] | |
| Margaret Lawrie Collection of Torres Strait Islands, 1964-1998 | Australia | State Library of Queensland, Brisbane-27.4711°N 153.0181°W | 2008 | [14] [15] | |
| Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party, 1892 | Australia | State Library of Queensland, Brisbane-27.4711°N 153.0181°W | 2008 | [16] [17] [18] | |
| The Convict Records of Queensland 1825-1842 | Australia | State Library of Queensland, Brisbane-27.4711°N 153.0181°W | 2009 | [19] | |
| James Tyson Papers, 1834-1965 | Australia | State Library of Queensland, Brisbane-27.4711°N 153.0181°W Queensland State Archives, Brisbane National Library of Australia, Canberra Deniliquin and District Historical Society | 2017 | [20] [21] [22] | |
| Anzac Day Commemoration Committee, 1916-1922 | Australia | State Library of Queensland, Brisbane-27.4711°N 153.0181°W | 2019 | [23] [24] [25] [26] | |
| The Johnstone Gallery Archive, 1948-1992 | Australia | State Library of Queensland, Brisbane-27.4711°N 153.0181°W | 2021 | [27] [28] [29] [30] | |
| Dr Barbara Piscitelli AM Children's Art Archive 1986-2016; 2020 | Australia | State Library of Queensland, Brisbane-27.4711°N 153.0181°W | 2023 | ||
| Giant Glass Plate Negatives of Sydney Harbour | Australia | State Library of New South Wales, Sydney-33.8662°N 151.2133°W | 2021 | [31] | |
| 7 March Speech of Bangabandhu | Bangladesh | Liberation War Museum, Dhaka23.7757°N 90.3675°W | 2017 | [32] [33] | |
| Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archives | Cambodia | Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Phnom Penh11.5494°N 104.9154°W | 2009 | [34] | |
| Traditional Music Sound Archives | China | Chinese Academy of Arts, Beijing39.9506°N 116.4475°W | 1997 | [35] | |
| Records of the Qing's Grand Secretariat - 'Infiltration of Western Culture in China' | China | Palace Museum, Beijing39.9163°N 116.3971°W | 1999 | [36] | |
| Ancient Naxi Dongba Literature Manuscripts | China | Lijiang Prefecture Dongba Research Institute, Dayan26.8815°N 100.2097°W | 2003 | [37] | |
| China | State Archives, Beijing39.9149°N 116.3929°W | 2005 | [38] | ||
| China |
| 2007 | [39] | ||
| Ben Cao Gang Mu Compendium of Materia Medica | China | Library of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences39.9108°N 116.4174°W | 2011 | [40] | |
| Huang Di Nei Jing Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic | China | National Library of China39.943°N 116.3231°W | 2011 | [41] | |
| Official Records of Tibet from the Yuan Dynasty China, 1304-1367 | China | Tibet Autonomous Region Archives, Lhasa29.6563°N 91.0824°W | 2013 | [42] | |
| Qiaopi and Yinxin Correspondence and Remittance Documents from Overseas Chinese | China |
| 2013 | [43] | |
| Documents of Nanjing Massacre | China |
| 2015 | [44] | |
| The Archives of Suzhou Silk from Modern and Contemporary Times | China | Suzhou Industrial and Commercial Archives Administration31.3263°N 120.6264°W | 2017 | [45] | |
| Chinese Oracle-Bone Inscriptions | China |
| 2017 | [46] | |
| Official Records of Macao During the Qing Dynasty (1693-1886) | China, Portugal | Torre do Tombo National Archive, Alvalade, Lisbon38.7547°N -9.1565°W | 2017 | [47] | |
| Records of the Indian Indentured Labourers | Fiji, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago | 2011 | [48] | ||
| The I.A.S. Tamil Medical Manuscript Collection | India | Institute of Asian Studies, Chennai12.8633°N 80.2296°W | 1997 | [49] [50] | |
| Archives of the Dutch East India Company | India, Indonesia, Netherlands, South Africa, Sri Lanka |
| 2003 | [51] | |
| India | French Institute of Pondicherry, Pondicherry11.9369°N 79.8357°W | 2005 | [52] [53] | ||
| India | Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune18.5191°N 73.8299°W | 2007 | [54] [55] | ||
| Tarikh-e-Khandan-e-Timuriyah | India | Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, Patna 25.6215°N 85.1357°W | 2011 | [56] [57] | |
| Laghukālachakratantrarājatīka Vimalaprabhā | India | The Asiatic Society, Kolkata22.5551°N 88.3505°W | 2011 | [58] | |
| Shāntinātha Charitra | India | Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum, Ahmedabad23.0331°N 72.5498°W | 2013 | [59] | |
| Gilgit Manuscript | India | National Archives of India, New Delhi28.6155°N 77.2172°W | 2017 | [60] | |
| Maitreyayvarakarana | India | Maitreyayvarakarana Asiatic Society, Kolkata 22.5551°N 88.3505°W | 2017 | [61] | |
| Ramcharitmanas | India | 2024 | |||
| Panchatantra | India | 2024 | |||
| Sahṛdayaloka-Locana | India | 2024 | |||
| Sultana's Dream | India | 2024 | |||
| La Galigo | Indonesia, Netherlands | 2011 | [62] | ||
| Nagarakretagama Description of the Country (1365 AD) | Indonesia | National Library of Indonesia, Jakarta-6.1813°N 106.8269°W | 2013 | [63] | |
| Babad Diponegoro | Indonesia, Netherlands |
| 2013 | [64] | |
| Asian-African Conference Archives | Indonesia | National Archives of Indonesia, South Jakarta-6.2786°N 106.8189°W | 2015 | [65] | |
| Borobudur Conservation Archives | Indonesia | National Archives of Indonesia-6.2786°N 106.8189°W | 2017 | [66] | |
| The Indian Ocean Tsunami Archives | Indonesia, Sri Lanka |
| 2017 | [67] | |
| Panji Tales Manuscripts | Indonesia, Cambodia, Netherlands, Malaysia, United Kingdom |
| 2017 | [68] | |
| "Bayasanghori Shâhnâmeh" (Prince Bayasanghor's Book of the Kings) | Iran | Golestan Palace, Tehran35.6798°N 51.4205°W | 2007 | [69] | |
| The Deed For Endowment: Rab’ I-Rashidi (Rab I-Rashidi Endowment) 13th Century manuscript | Iran | Tabriz Central Library, Tabriz38.0641°N 46.2563°W | 2007 | [70] [71] | |
| Administrative Documents of Astan-e Quds Razavi in the Safavid Era | Iran | Astan-e Quds Razavi Library, Mashhad36.2895°N 59.6161°W | 2009 | [72] | |
| Al-Tafhim li Awa'il Sana'at al-Tanjim The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology | Iran | Library, Museum and Documentation Centre of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Tehran35.8084°N 51.4586°W | 2011 | [73] | |
| Collection of Nezami’s Panj Ganj | Iran |
| 2011 | [74] | |
| A Collection of selected maps of Iran in the Qajar Era (1193 - 1344 Lunar Calendar / 1779-1926 Gregorian Calendar) | Iran | Library of Political and International Studies of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs35.8084°N 51.4586°W | 2013 | [75] | |
| Dhakhīra-yi Khārazmshāhī | Iran | Library of the Sepahsalar Mosque, Tehran35.6894°N 51.4334°W | 2013 | [76] | |
| Al-Masaalik Wa Al-Mamaalik: The Book of Itineraries and Kingdoms | Germany, Iran |
| 2015 | [77] | |
| Kulliyyāt-i Saʽdi: Kulliyat of Saadi | Iran | The National Library and Archives of Iran, Tehran35.7519°N 51.4343°W | 2015 | [78] | |
| Jāme’ al-Tavarikh Compendium of Chronicles | Iran | Golestan Palace, Tehran50.9454°N 10.7054°W | 2017 | [79] | |
| Sakubei Yamamoto Collection | Japan |
| 2011 | [80] | |
| Materials Related to the Keicho-era Mission to Europe Japan and Spain | Japan, Spain | Sendai City Museum, Sendai38.256°N 140.8566°W | 2013 | [81] | |
| Midokanpakuki: the original handwritten diary of Fujiwara no Michinaga | Japan | Yōmei Bunko, Kyoto35.0318°N 135.7101°W | 2013 | [82] | |
| Archives of Tōji temple contained in one-hundred boxes | Japan | Kyoto Prefectural Library, Kyoto35.013°N 135.7821°W | 2015 | [83] | |
| Return to Maizuru Port—Documents Related to the Internment and Repatriation Experiences of Japanese (1945-1956) | Japan | Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum, Kyoto35.5095°N 135.3967°W | 2015 | [84] | |
| Three Cherished Stelae of Ancient Kozuke | Japan | Takasaki, Gunma36.3221°N 139.0034°W | 2017 | [85] | |
| Collection of manuscripts of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi | Kazakhstan | National Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty43.2414°N 76.9431°W | 2003 | [86] | |
| Audiovisual documents of the International antinuclear movement "Nevada-Semipalatinsk" | Kazakhstan | State Archive & State Archive of Film, Almaty43.2427°N 76.9456°W | 2005 | [87] | |
| Aral Sea Archival Fonds | Kazakhstan | State Archive & State Archive of Film, Almaty 43.2427°N 76.9456°W | 2011 | [88] | |
| Correspondence of the late Sultan of Kedah (1882–1943) | Malaysia | National Archives of Malaysia, Alor Setar6.1634°N 100.3701°W | 2001 | [89] | |
| Hikayat Hang Tuah The story of Hang Tuah | Malaysia | National Library of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur3.1707°N 101.7114°W | 2001 | [90] | |
| Sejarah Melayu (the Malay Annals) | Malaysia | Institute of Language and Literature, Kuala Lumpur3.1342°N 101.7036°W | 2001 | [91] | |
| Batu Bersurat, Terengganu (Inscribed Stone of Terengganu) | Malaysia | Terengganu State Museum, Kuala Terengganu5.3186°N 103.1021°W | 2009 | [92] | |
| Lu."Altan Tobchi" : Golden History written in 1651 | Mongolia | National Library of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar47.9148°N 106.9163°W | 2011 | [93] | |
| Mongolian Tanjur & Stone Stele Monument for Mongolian Tanjur | Mongolia | National Library of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar47.9148°N 106.9163°W | 2011 & 2017 | [94] | |
| Kanjur written with 9 precious stones | Mongolia | National Library of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar47.9148°N 106.9163°W | 2013 | [95] | |
| Kuthodaw Inscription Shrines | Myanmar | Kuthodaw Pagoda, Mandalay22.0047°N 96.113°W | 2013 | [96] | |
| Myazedi Quadrilingual Stone Inscription | Myanmar | Department of Archaeology and National Museum, Naypyidaw19.7888°N 96.1413°W | 2015 | [97] | |
| The Golden Letter of the Burmese King Alaungphaya to King George II of Great Britain | Myanmar, Germany, United Kingdom |
| 2015 | [98] | |
| King Bayinnaung Bell Inscription | Myanmar | Shwezigon Pagoda, Bagan21.1953°N 94.8939°W | 2017 | [99] | |
| Nishvāsattatvasamhitā Manuscript | Nepal | National Archives of Nepal, Kathmandu27.6954°N 85.3215°W | 2013 | [100] | |
| Sushrutasamhitā (Sahottārtantra) Manuscript | Nepal | Kaiser Library, Kathmandu27.714°N 85.3153°W | 2013 | [101] | |
| Treaty of Waitangi | New Zealand | National Archives, Wellington-41.2771°N 174.7801°W | 1997 | [102] | |
| The 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition | New Zealand | National Archives, Wellington-41.2771°N 174.7801°W | 1997 | [103] | |
| Sir Edmund Hillary Archive | New Zealand | Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland-36.8604°N 174.7778°W | 2015 | [104] | |
| Comprehensive Illustrated Manual of Martial arts | North Korea | Grand People's Study House, Pyongyang; Various locations in South Korea39.0202°N 125.7493°W | 2017 | [105] | |
| Jinnah Papers (Quaid-i-Azam) | Pakistan | National Archives of Pakistan, Islamabad33.74°N 73.0948°W | 1999 | [106] | |
| Philippine Paleographs (Hanunoo, Buid, Tagbanua and Pala'wan) | Philippines | National Museum, Manila14.5869°N 120.9812°W | 1999 | [107] | |
| Radio Broadcast of the Philippine People Power Revolution | Philippines |
| 2003 | [108] | |
| José Maceda Collection | Philippines | U.P. Center for Ethnomusicology, Quezon City14.6571°N 121.0656°W | 2007 | [109] | |
| Presidential Papers of Manuel L. Quezon | Philippines | U.P. Center for Ethnomusicology, Quezon City14.6571°N 121.0656°W | 2011 | ||
| Hunminjeongum Manuscript: Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People | South Korea | Gansong Art Museum, Seoul37.5936°N 126.9969°W | 1997 | [110] | |
| The Annals of the Choson Dynasty | South Korea |
| 1997 | [111] | |
| Seungjeongwon ilgi, the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat | South Korea | Kyujanggak Library and Seoul National University, Seoul37.579°N 126.9895°W | 2001 | [112] | |
| Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol (vol. II), the second volume of "Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests’ Zen Teachings" | South Korea | National Library of France, Paris48.8336°N 2.3758°W | 2001 | [113] | |
| Printing woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana and miscellaneous Buddhist scriptures | South Korea | Haeinsa Monastery, Gyeongsangnam-do35.8012°N 128.0981°W | 2007 | [114] | |
| Uigwe | South Korea | Seoul National University, Seoul37.4593°N 126.9521°W | 2007 | [115] | |
| Dongui Bogam Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine | South Korea | National Library of Korea, Seoul37.4978°N 127.0037°W | 2009 | [116] | |
| Human Rights Documentary Heritage 1980 Archives for the May 18th Democratic Uprising against Military Regime, in Gwangju, Republic of Korea | South Korea |
| 2011 | [117] | |
| Ilseongnok Records of Daily Reflections | South Korea | Seoul National University, Seoul37.4593°N 126.9521°W | 2011 | [118] | |
| Nanjung ilgi War Diary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin | South Korea | Hyeonchungsa Shrine, Asan36.8065°N 127.032°W | 2013 | [119] | |
| Archives of Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement) | South Korea |
| 2013 | [120] | |
| Confucian Printing Woodblocks | South Korea | The Advanced Center for Korean Studies, Andong36.7023°N 128.8107°W | 2015 | [121] | |
| The Archives of the KBS Special Live Broadcast "Finding Dispersed Families" | South Korea |
| 2015 | [122] | |
| Royal Seal and Investiture Book Collection of the Joseon Dynasty | South Korea | National Palace Museum of Korea, Seoul37.5766°N 126.9751°W | 2017 | [123] | |
| Archives of the National Debt Redemption Movement | South Korea | National Debt Redemption Movement Memorial Park35.8694°N 128.606°W | 2017 | [124] | |
| Documents on Joseon Tongsinsa/Chosen Tsushinshi: The History of Peace Building and Cultural Exchanges between Korea and Japan from the 17th to 19th Century | South Korea, Japan |
| 126.950237
| 2017 | [125] |
| Mahavamsa (6th century BCE to 1815 CE) | Sri Lanka | Palm Leaf Manuscripts Collection, University of Peradeniya | 2023 | [126] | |
| The manuscript of Ubayd Zakoni's Kulliyat and Hafez Sherozi's Gazalliyt (14th century) | Tajikistan | Institute of the Written Heritage of the Academy of Sciences, Dushanbe38.571°N 68.7919°W | 2003 | [127] | |
| The King Ram Khamhaeng Inscription | Thailand | Bangkok National Museum, Bangkok13.7582°N 100.4918°W | 2003 | [128] | |
| Archival Documents of King Chulalongkorn's Transformation of Siam (1868–1910) | Thailand | National Library of Thailand, Bangkok; National Archives of Thailand, Bangkok13.7723°N 100.5051°W | 2009 | [129] | |
| Epigraphic Archives of Wat Pho | Thailand | Wat Pho, Bangkok13.7465°N 100.4933°W | 2011 | [130] | |
| "The Minute Books of the Council of the Siam Society", 100 years of recording international cooperation in research and the dissemination of knowledge in the arts and sciences | Thailand | National Archives of Thailand, Bangkok13.7731°N 100.5046°W | 2013 | [131] | |
| The Royal Photographic Glass Plate Negatives and Original Prints Collection | Thailand | National Archives of Thailand, Bangkok13.7731°N 100.5046°W | 2017 | [132] | |
| On the Birth of a Nation: Turning points (Max Stahl collection of audiovisual documents) | East Timor | Archives & Museum of East Timorese Resistance-8.5556°N 125.5775°W | 2013 | [133] | |
| Holy Koran Mushaf of Othman | Uzbekistan | The Muslim Board of Uzbekistan, Tashkent41.3256°N 69.2414°W | 1997 | [134] | |
| The Collection of the Al-Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies | Uzbekistan | Academy of Sciences, Tashkent41.3066°N 69.2866°W | 1997 | [135] | |
| Archives of the Chancellery of Khiva Khans | Uzbekistan | Central State Archive of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent41.2875°N 69.2289°W | 2017 | [136] | |
| Arthur Bernard Deacon (1903–27) collection MS 90-98 | Vanuatu, United Kingdom | Royal Anthropological Institute, London51.5238°N -0.1401°W | 2013 | [137] | |
| Woodblocks of the Nguyễn Dynasty | Vietnam | State Records and Archives Department of Vietnam, Hanoi21.0326°N 105.8092°W | 2009 | [138] | |
| Stone stele records of imperial examinations of the Lê and Mạc dynasties | Vietnam | Temple of Literature21.0294°N 105.8362°W | 2010 | [139] [140] | |
| Imperial Archives of Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) | Vietnam | National Archives Centre No.1, Hanoi21.0169°N 105.7981°W | 2017 | [141] |
A. Names and spellings provided are based on the official list released by the Memory of the World Programme.