The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Sir Henry Thomas Colebrooke on the 15th March 1823. It received its Royal Charter from King George IV on the 11th August 1824 'for the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia'. It continues as a forum for those who are interested in the languages, cultures and history of Asia to meet and exchange ideas.

The Royal Asiatic Society China is a learned society based in Shanghai and Beijing, China. 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). The first journal was published in 1858 and thereafter for 90 years. 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 Society was closed in 1952. The book collection went to the Shanghai Library and most of the museum exhibits to the Shanghai Natural History Museum. In 2006 the society was re-established in Hangzhou and transferred to Shanghai the following year as the Royal Asiatic Society China in Shanghai. The Journal has been resurrected and a growing library and museum opened to members and scholars. In 2013 a chapter was established in Beijing as the Royal Asiatic Society in Beijing.