Ming-Ch'ing Research on the Web
In the autumn of 1998, a Ming-Ch'ing research website was established at Academia Sinica, Taiwan. The site (http://www.sinica.edu.tw/~mingching) is administered by Professor Hsiung Ping-chen of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica. The initial idea behind the site was to provide members of the Ming-Ch'ing Research Group, located at Academia Sinica easy access to any information pertaining to the Ming-Ch'ing periods (14th-early 20th century) in Chinese history.By Michael Walsh
The site has since expanded and is open to anyone interested in the Ming and Ch'ing periods. Recently we launched an e-mail discussion network, where participants can discuss topics of interest. (Our e-mail: mingching@gate.sinica.edu.tw, guidelines on how to participate are available on the website).For decades now, researchers in the field of Chinese history have been constantly plagued by the overwhelming quantity of sources scattered throughout the archives. Keeping track of what is available around the globe has been a problem faced by researchers and other interested parties alike. With the profound implications of the World Wide Web crashing down on us like an informational tidal wave, those interested in historical research must rethink the way in which we conceive of storing, retrieving, and evaluating information. The database archive that allows accessibility from anywhere in the world is one way to confront some the new realities that the Web presents to us. Using the web as a research tool, or using a website research archive, cannot as yet replace the primary text; however, as more primary source materials become available on the Web, the ability to search for specific phrases, keywords, titles of essays etc. is fast becoming more feasible as databases increase around the globe. Many institutes, schools, and universities have developed website archives, and are putting their library collections online. Restrictions, security issues, copyrights, privacy rights and so forth, are still being worked out as the World Wide Web continues to grow day by day at an astonishing pace. One important challenge faced by the Ming-Ch'ing Research Group is deciding what information to place on the website and how best to organize the information being presented. Thus far, a simple design has been used enabling the user to interface quickly with the desired information. One immediate problem was how to display Chinese characters for browsers incapable of reading them. In part, this has been overcome by preserving the Chinese characters as images, which most browsers are able to read. For the remaining Chinese text, the goal is to translate everything, or at least provide summaries in English. A substantial amount of translation has been done. We will soon be adding Japanese to the site and what challenges this may present remains to be seen. The Ming-Ch'ing database serves as an ongoing collection of materials. Data being compiled and placed on the site include: new publications in both Chinese and English from Taiwan, Mainland China, Europe, the US, etc., activities in which the Ming-Ch'ing research group are actively involved (conferences, colloquia, seminars, guest lecturers, etc.), a list of current members of the Ming-Ch'ing Research Group, websites that may be of use to researchers (still under construction), and so forth. The site also provides summaries of scholars' works, and their most recent research plans. Contents of periodicals and journals related to Ming-Ch'ing studies for the last five years are provided for scholars to peruse. We plan to update the Ming-Ch'ing website continuously and hopefully will see more participation and interaction from other areas of the academic community. Some final points: first, given the inevitable dominance of the Web as a means for people all over the globe to access information from anywhere at any time, it makes sense to begin building website research archives as soon as possible, thus beginning the process of accumulation - an essential procedure for any archival database. The more information available in a systematic and coherent format, the better. Secondly, it is important for the international scholarly community to begin agreeing on foundational principles as to how academic research standards can be applied to website research archives. Along with copyright issues, this may well be the greatest challenge faced by designers of website research archives. There are many other technical difficulties involved; for example, the languages used in the website, archival methodology, presentation of data, and so forth. The possibilities are endless, and as a research tool, the website research archive provides a potential that has only just begun to be tapped.
Michael Walsh, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, can be reached at e-mail: mwalsh@ficnet.net.