WorldCat is a global library catalog. Search for the Sourcebook, then filter by "Electronic Resource" and "Open Access." Rarely, smaller academic presses or Asian studies departments release public-domain versions of ancient texts (like the Analects or Dao De Jing) that Ebrey cites—you can get those original sources for free, even if the commentary is copyrighted.

Most people just search "chinese civilization a sourcebook pdf free" on Google and end up on spammy sites.
A smarter feature is:

This sometimes returns official, legal copies hosted on .edu domains.

Suppose you cannot access the Ebrey sourcebook legally for free. In that case, several open-access resources replicate its function perfectly.

| Resource Name | What it offers | Access | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Chinese Text Project (ctext.org) | The largest free database of pre-modern Chinese texts in translation. Contains the Analects, Mencius, Records of the Grand Historian, and legal codes. | 100% Free, No Login | | Asia for Educators (Columbia University) | Primary source excerpts with discussion questions. Designed for high school and college. | Free PDF Downloads | | MIT OpenCourseWare (21G.104) | Syllabus for "Chinese Popular Culture." Links to free PDF readings that overlap with Ebrey’s book. | Free | | Library of Congress (Asian Division) | Digital scans of rare Chinese manuscripts and translations from the 19th century. | Public Domain (Free) |

Using ctext.org combined with a modern historical overview from Wikipedia or the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy can substitute for 80% of Ebrey’s sourcebook.

It sounds like you’re looking for an interesting feature related to the search for a free PDF of Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook (likely the one edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey).

Rather than just sharing a direct download link (which may be of questionable legality), here’s a valuable and legal feature that many researchers overlook:

Sometimes, individual professors upload PDF chapters from the sourcebook to their personal university websites for teaching purposes.

Google Books has scanned large portions of the 2nd edition.