Chapas Sínicas: Macao records in Memory of the World

The Chapas Sínicas form part of the Official Records of Macao During the Qing Dynasty (1693–1886), registered in Memory of the World in 2017 following a nomination by China and Portugal. The collection records relations between Macao’s Leal Senado procurator’s office and Chinese authorities in Guangdong. Its history belongs to Macao; the originals identified in the nomination are held at Torre do Tombo in Lisbon.

Chinese documents and Portuguese versions

The nomination describes over 3,600 documents, predominantly in Chinese, with a substantial portion in Portuguese. The chapas include official correspondence sent by Chinese authorities. Another component comprises Portuguese translations and copies of correspondence sent by the Leal Senado, described in the 2016 form as five books and four packets.

These sources support research into administration, taxation, shipping and jurisdictional disputes. Compare original, translation and reply where they survive. The presence of both languages does not mean that every document has a surviving translation or that all versions express the same viewpoint.

Provenance and holding institutions

Macao is the setting of production; Lisbon holds the originals identified in the nomination.

The form distinguishes originals managed by Torre do Tombo from copies, mainly microfilms, held by the Archives of Macao. A joint nomination does not establish that the originals are divided equally between the two archives.

The records passed through the Nossa Senhora da Graça convent before entering Torre do Tombo in the late nineteenth century. The nomination acknowledges uncertainty about their precise passage from Macao to Portugal; involvement of missionaries is presented as a hypothesis, rather than a proven transport history.

Two registers with different scope

The collection entered the Asia-Pacific regional register, MOWCAP, in 2016, and the International Memory of the World Register in 2017. These recognitions have different scope. They are not inscriptions of a building on the World Heritage List, nor do they add new physical pieces to the archive.

Researching the Chapas Sínicas

Search for PT/TT/DCHN — Documentos em Chinês in Digitarq. Torre do Tombo also provides a descriptive catalogue. Record each unit’s full reference, date, language and any former shelfmarks included in its description. A collection result, a book and a letter are not equivalent counting units.

Before consultation, confirm available reproductions and access conditions for originals with the archive. Past projects and exhibitions do not guarantee current display. For another shared inscription, explore the Treaty of Tordesillas, whose documents have a different provenance and context.