To stimulate the research development of our Department, our teachers actively apply for the research funding to support their research projects. In the past 10 years, a number of research projects have successfully acquired funding from the Research Grants Council, the Quality Education Fund and other external funding bodies. The research specializations of our teachers include Chinese linguistics and phonology, ancient Chinese texts, classical Chinese literature, and modern Chinese literature. Under the strong research atmosphere of our Department, we anticipate to have more valued research and bring new thoughts to the academia in the future.
Funded by the Research Grants Council
The First Phase of a Computerized Database of the Entire Body of Extant Chinese Encyclopedias (Leishu) (2001/02)
Project Title
The First Phase of a Computerized Database of the Entire Body of Extant Chinese Encyclopedias (Leishu)
Funding Year
2001/02
Principle Investigator
Prof Ho Che Wah
Other Investigator
Prof Hoyan Hang Fung Carole
Granted Amount
HK$2,000,000
Funding Organization
RGC Earmarked Research Grant
Description

Chinese Encyclopedias (Leishu) are reference books consisting of extracts from sources extant at the time of compilation. By the time of Tang and Song dynasties, the compilation of leishu became fashionable and many well-known examples of leishu were published, e.g. Beitangshuchao, Yiwenleiju, Taipingyulan and Cefuyuangui.

The database of the entire corpus of the extant Pre-Han & Han and the Six dynasties traditional Chinese texts (the CHANT database) were completed by the Institute of Chinese Studies in the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1991 and 1997 respectively. Some missing titles/passages, however, are to be found in the form of citations in leishu. The objectives of the present study are: I) to build a computerized database of the entire corpus of extant leishu, II) to make a comparative study of citations appearing in leishu and the CHANT database. There are three tasks we set ourselves. First, by comparing the earliest citations with extant versions, we hope to be able to correct textual mistakes wherever they occur. Second, we propose to make an analysis of the variant readings through textual comparison. In this way, we can get closer to the texts as they were in their original form, which may differ significantly from extant versions. Third, we are able to identify all the text of which are not found in extant editions so that such missing parts can be culled out and re-constituted for textual studies.

The database, when completed, will not only be important for textual studies, but will also be useful for related studies such as philosophy and syntax in historical perspective. As citations are classified according to subject and periods, it will be helpful to historical linguists in their attempt to study the diachronic development and changes of the Chinese language. Since we have the entire body of all traditional texts up to the Six dynasties, we can make sure that the study is exhaustive and accurate. Due to the magnitude of the task, we have divided the project into two phases, with Phase I handling all leishu from the Three Kingdoms to the Song Dynasty and Phase II from the Yuan Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.

The complete collection of leishu for exhaustive study has always been of interest to many scholars. This was, however, a daunting task without the assistance of modern technology. There has been no attempt to make into reality yet. With our experience in building up ancient text databases, we are confident that we will be able to make the project a success.

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