Search Help

N.B. When using the Chinese interface, please enter your search terms as traditional Chinese characters (漢字). When using the English interface, please enter your search terms as Pinyin (without tones; "ü" may be entered as " v ", e.g. " nv " instead of "nü").

There are 4 ways of retrieving information in the database:

1. Indices
2. Browse a publication
3. Keyword Search
4. Boolean Search

1. Indices

A number indices to the contents of the database are available: Personal Names, Gender, Ethnic Groups, Maritial Status, Geographical Locations, Biographies, Poem Titles, Poetic Forms, Tune Patterns, Remarks on Poetry, Prose Genres, Tanci, Collections by Date, Collections by Type, Collections by Participating Library, Reign Titles, and Sexagenary Cycle. With the exception of the index for sexagenary cycle, the listings in each index are hyperlinked to more complete information.

• The Personal Names index produces a list of all personal names in the database, ordered alphabetically (pinyin transliteration). These may the names of a writer, an illustrator, or the subject of a piece of writing. Each entry in the list is hyperlinked to full information about the author or illustrator in question.
• The Gender index provides the option to browse a list of poets by gender
• The Ethnic Groups index produces a list of ethnic groups of the poets in the database. Each entry in the list is hyperlinked to a list of poets belonging to the ethnic group in question.
• The Marital Status index produces a list of the various terms of marital status in the database. Each entry in the list is hyperlinked to a list poets of the marital status in question.
• The Geographical Locations index produces a list of historical and contemporary geographical locations in the database, organized alphabetically (pinyin transliteration) by place name. Each entry in the list provides a hyperlink to contextual information on a given area (e.g. contemporary place names provide listings of related historical place names, historical place names provide a listing of poets who were active in the area at that point in history and also to poets who where known to be active in the area in all time periods).
• The Biographies index produces a list of available biographies in the database ordered alphabetically (pinyin transliteration) by author. Each entry in the list is hyperlinked to information about the author of the biography, the subject of the biography, and to the text of the bibiography itself.
• The Poem Titles index produces a list of all writings or illustrations in the database, ordered alphabetically (pinyin transliteration) by title. Each entry in the list is hyperlinked to full information about the illustration or piece of writing in question.
• The Poetic Forms index produces a list of poetic forms of the poems in the database. Each entry in the list is hyperlinked to a list of poems written in the form in question.
• The Tune Patterns index produces a list of tune patterns used by the poems in the database. Each entry in the list is hyperlinked to a list of poems written in the tune pattern in question.
• The Remarks on Poetry index produces a list of commentaries in the database (詩話 and 詞話). Each entry in the list is hyperlinked to full information about the commentary in question.
• The Prose Genres index produces a list of genres of the non-poetic works in the database. Each entry in the list is hyperlinked to a list of texts in the genre in question.
• A list of Tanci. Each entry is hyperlinked.
• The Collections by Date allows one to filter the list of collections by publication date. Each entry is hyperlinked.
• The Collections by Type allows one to filter the list of collections by work type. Each entry is hyperlinked.
• The Collections by Participating Library allows one to filter the list of collections by the particapting library which owns the work in question. Each entry is hyperlinked.
• The Reign Titles index produces a list of authors who were known to be active in a given period, organized by Dynasty and then by Reign Title. Each entry in the list provides a hyperlink to information about the author in question.
• The Sexagenary Cycle index produces a listing of the Western date and traditional term for a given year in the sexagenary cycle, organized chronologically by Dynasty. These entries are not hyperlinked.

2. Browse a publication

Select a Book from the drop down list at the top of the Search page. You will be presented with a page listing of the contents of the publication you choose. Page listings are hyperlinked both to the prose or poem in question, and to the author of a given piece of text. Page listings of titles within a given publication, when they exist, are available via the "titles within this collection" link. Complete bibliographic information is available via the "Bibliographic information" link. You may consult the digitized version of the publication via the "View digitized version" link.

3. Keyword Search

You may search for an occurance of a particular term either at the beginning of a field or anywhere in a record by performing a Keyword Search. For example, a keyword search of "Title of Collection" by "Ming yuan" will return results similar to this:

• Ben Chao Ming Yuan Shi Chao: 6 juan (edited by Hu Xiaosi, Qing dynasty)
• Gu jin nü shi: 12 juan, shi ji: 8 juan, fu Xing shi zi li xiang jie: 1 juan (edited by Zhao shijie, Ming dynasty)
• Li chao ming yuan shi ci: 12 juan (edited by Lu Chang, Qing dynasty)
• Lian xiang ji: 5 juan (by Zhang Qiao, Ming Dynasty)
• Ming yuan chi du (by Jingji Dongxuan, Qing dynasty)
• Ming yuan hui shi: 20 juan (by Zheng Wenang, Ming dynasty)
• Ming yuan shi gui: 36 juan (edited by Zhong Xing, Ming dynasty)
• Ming yuan shi hua shi er juan xu ji san juan: 15 juan (by Shen Shanbao, Qing Dynasty)
• Ming yuan shi wei chu bian (Edited by Wang Duanshu, Qing dynasty)
• Ming yun xuan yi shi: 1 juan (by Wang Shengzhi, Qing dynasty)
• Sun fu ren ji: 1 juan (by Yang Wenli, Ming dynasty)

A search of "Reign Title" beginning with "Qian" will return results similar to this:

• Qianfeidi Jinghe
• Qianfeidi Yongguang

4. Boolean Search

Boolean Search is the most powerful way of searching the database. You can choose to see a listing of publications, poems, or poets, generated according to the criteria you select.
Example 1: to see a list of non-Han male writers in the database who were active in the Qing dynasty your coumpound search would look like this:

Find "poet/author" where Yearspan contains "1644-1911" AND Gender contains "nan" NOT Ethnic Group contains "Han"

Your search will return results similar to this:

人名	字	號	其他字 、號	生活年代	籍貫
崇保 Chongbao				清道光光緒	長白
希元 Xiyuan				?-1894	正黃旗
盛昱 Shengyu	伯熙 Boxi			1850-1900	鑲白旗滿洲
祥泰 Xiang Tai		次履 Cilü		清	鑲黃旗漢軍

Example 2: to see a list of poems with the title "Wen yan" written by Yuan Ji, your compound search would look like this:

Find "poem/text/illustration" where Personal Name contains "Yuan Ji" AND Poem Title contains "Wen yan"

Your search will return results similar to this:

文體	詩題或詞牌	詞題	作者	原書
詩	聞雁	袁機	國朝閨秀正始集﹕二十卷﹐附錄﹕一卷﹐補遺﹕一卷﹐又附題詞﹕一卷(清惲珠輯)。清道光十一年（1831）紅香館刻本。
詩	聞雁	袁機	素文女子遺稿(清袁機撰)。清嘉慶間(1796-1820)刻本。