The Asiatic Society of Mumbai originated as the Literary Society of Bombay which first met in Mumbai on 26 November 1804, and was founded by Sir James Mackintosh. It was formed with the intention of "promoting useful knowledge, particularly such as is now immediately connected with India". After the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was established in London in 1823, the Literary Society of Bombay became affiliated with it and was known as the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (BBRAS) from 1830. The Bombay Geographical Society merged with it in 1873, followed by the Anthropological Society of Bombay in 1896. In 1954, it separated from the Royal Asiatic Society and was renamed as the Asiatic Society of Bombay. In 2002, it acquired its present name.
The Madras Literary Society was founded in 1812 and in 1830 it became associated with the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and renamed the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society. It was founded by Sir John Henry Newbolt, Chief Justice of Madras, with Benjamin Guy Babington as the founder secretary. The Society produced a journal called the Transactions of the Literary Society of Madras and, from 1833, under the name of the Madras Journal of Literature and Science. The journal ceased publication in 1894.
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.