It was established in Shanghai in 1857 by a small group of British and American expatriates as the Shanghai Literary and Scientific Society, and within a year had achieved affiliation with the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and become the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (NCBRAS).
However, following the death of the society's first president, American missionary Elijah Coleman Bridgman, in 1861 the society became moribund, but was rescued in 1864 by Sir Harry Smith Parkes, the British Consul.
[1] The Society’s stated intention was to study and disseminate knowledge of China and surrounding nations by publishing a journal and establishing a library and museum.
The Society’s original home comprised a ground-floor reading room, library and lecture hall, but was expanded in 1874 to house a museum on the floor above.
The Journal has been resurrected and a growing library and museum opened to members and scholars.