Chinese Text Project
Full text of classical Chinese works, as JSON.
An open-access API into a large digital library of pre-modern Chinese texts. Request a work by its URN and receive the passage text plus its title as JSON. Basic access is keyless, and a free API key raises the limits; great for scholarship and language projects.
GET https://api.ctext.org/gettext?urn=ctp:analects/xue-er
{
"title": "學而",
"fulltext_first": "子曰:「學而時習之,不亦說乎?有朋自遠方來,不亦樂乎?人不知而不慍,不亦君子乎?」",
"fulltext_count": 16
}curl "https://api.ctext.org/gettext?urn=ctp:analects/xue-er"const res = await fetch("https://api.ctext.org/gettext?urn=ctp:analects/xue-er");
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);import requests
res = requests.get("https://api.ctext.org/gettext?urn=ctp:analects/xue-er")
print(res.json())/gettext?urn=ctp:analects/xue-erPROBEDFull text of classical Chinese works, as JSON.
/gettext?limit=5Gettext — documented GET route.
/gettext?page=1Gettext — documented GET route.
We probe a documented GET and expect 2xx JSON — full uptime and health score. Export includes every documented route below.
Stable. No schema drift observed since monitoring began — the response shape has not changed under our checks.
Chinese Text Project: common questions
Is Chinese Text Project free to use?
Yes — Chinese Text Project is a free books & words API. Free tier: Free (higher limits with a free API key). Whether the free tier allows commercial use is unclear — check the provider docs.
Does Chinese Text Project need an API key?
No — Chinese Text Project needs no API key or signup. You can call it straight away; rate limits still apply (Fair-use; raised with an API key).
Can I call Chinese Text Project from the browser?
Yes — Chinese Text Project returns CORS headers over HTTPS, so front-end code can fetch it directly with no backend proxy. Use the fetch snippet on this page, or hit "Run live" to try it now.
Is Chinese Text Project up right now?
As of our last scheduled check, Chinese Text Project is unmonitored. We re-probe it every sweep — the status badge and uptime chart above always show the latest.