# Download CBDB Standalone Database ## expand\_more [**CBDB Sign-up Form**](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1MTnnnWzRiVDqF7ifsXg1wdLJ1GXuKYrNnnZnJrzPFhg/viewform): Click the link and fill in your information if you would like to receive email about new releases for CBDB. The link will possibly be opened in a new browser tab/window. (Note: If you can't access the Sign-up Form, please contact Hongsu Wang at **hongsuwang \[at\] fas.harvard.edu**. ) [**Error Report Form**](/report-error): We now also have a form for you to report errors! If you find any errors or bugs, please click on the form above. The historical versions can be found [here](/cbdb-sources). ## **Download Latest** [**Microsoft Access Format**](https://download.cbdb.inindex.com/En/login.html) **Please DO read the CBDB** [**download and installation guide**](/how-install-access) **before you start using CBDB Access.** **If you encounter an error on Windows 10: “Missing or broken reference” to a file MSCOMCTL.OCX, follow the** [**instructions in the this PDF**](/file_url/571)**.** **If you are having trouble downloading the file, please contact hongsuwang(at)fas.harvard.edu.** ## **Download Latest Release SQLite Format:** [https://github.com/cbdb-project/cbdb\_sqlite/](https://github.com/cbdb-project/cbdb_sqlite) **CBDB BJ 20260602 Version** **The China Biographical Database Project is pleased to announce the newest release of the database: CBDB BJ 20260602. The new release of the stand-alone China Biographical Database, CBDB\_BJ\_20260602 in MS Access format, is available for download** [**HERE**](https://download.cbdb.inindex.com/)**, effective immediately. This release contains data on 649,533 men and women. In addition to data revisions this release contains extensive structural improvements.** **The most significant structural change is that with the BJ revision, CBDB uses just two files: an interface file (CBDB\_BJ\_User.mdb) with the version indicated by two letters, in this case “BJ,” and just one data file (CBDB\_20260602\_DATA.mdb) with the version indicated by the date sequence YYYYMMDD.** **The technical specifications for the revisions in this release are described below in the** ***CBDB Restructure*** **and** ***CBDB Access Query System*** **sections, including a downloadable machine-readable schema comparison file (**[**access\_schema\_diff\_20250520\_vs\_20260430**](https://cbdb.hsites.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3101/files/2026-06/access_schema_diff_20250520_vs_20260430.en_.pdf)**). New biographical data appear in the online inputting system as they are created; available** [**HERE**](https://input.cbdb.fas.harvard.edu/basicinformation)**. The online search engine in Chinese (simplified and traditional) and English is provided by the CBDB commercial partner** [**https://www.inindex.com/**](https://www.inindex.com/) **with free registration. However, this online system replicates the search and export functionalities of the MS Access standalone database only for institutional subscribers. Following an agreement between the commercial and academic branches of CBDB, the academic branch (licensed under** [**Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International**](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)**) publishes new data approximately one year after the commercial branch. As a result, no new persons have been added in this release relative to CBDB\_bi\_20250520.** **CBDB Restructure** A detailed machine-readable diff of all schema changes between CBDB\_bi\_20250520 and CBDB\_BJ\_20260602 is available for download: [access\_schema\_diff\_20250520\_vs\_20260430](https://cbdb.hsites.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3101/files/2026-06/access_schema_diff_20250520_vs_20260430.en_.pdf). The database structure has been significantly updated between CBDB\_bi\_20250520 and CBDB\_BJ\_20260602. Key changes are summarized below. **Tables added (4):** - ADMIN\_CAT\_CODE\_TYPE\_REL - ADMIN\_CAT\_CODES - ADMIN\_CAT\_TYPES - MERGED\_PERSON\_DATA **Tables removed (5):** - ADDR\_PLACE\_DATA - ADDR\_XY - DATABASE\_LINK\_CODES - DATABASE\_LINK\_DATA - PLACE\_CODES **Key field and structural changes:** - c\_created\_date and c\_modified\_date across multiple tables: type changed from Text(255) to DateTime - ENTRY\_DATA.c\_nianhao\_id renamed to c\_entry\_nh\_id; c\_parental\_status renamed to c\_parental\_status\_code - BIOG\_MAIN.c\_name and c\_name\_chn are now required (NOT NULL); c\_self\_bio field removed - TEXT\_CODES: publication fields (c\_pub\_country, c\_pub\_dy, c\_pub\_nh\_code, c\_pub\_nh\_year, c\_pub\_range\_code, c\_pub\_year, c\_publisher, c\_pub\_loc, c\_pub\_notes) moved to TEXT\_INSTANCE\_DATA - POSTED\_TO\_OFFICE\_DATA.c\_appt\_code\_desc removed - OFFICE\_CODES: four category fields removed; c\_dy is now required (NOT NULL) - ADDR\_CODES: new c\_admin\_cat\_code field linking to new ADMIN\_CAT tables - EVENTS\_DATA and EVENTS\_ADDR: primary keys added; c\_event\_record\_id removed - ASSOC\_DATA: several Integer/Long Integer field type corrections **CBDB Access Query System (Michael Fuller)** CBDB\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20260424 This build removes c\_appt\_code\_desc from POSTED\_TO\_OFFICE\_DATA. CBDB\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20260417 Minor change to synchronize with the MariaDB version. Deleted a field in SOCIAL\_INSTITUTION\_ALTNAME\_DATA. CBDB\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20260414 This build removes the four category fields from OFFICE\_CODES. c\_dy is set to NOT NULL. CBDB\_BJ\_AND\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20260226 In this build, the index year calculation algorithm has been revised in the DATA file. 1. The calculation of index years by jinshi, juren, and xiucai dates for concubines and successor wives has been moved to after step 9W (based on the woman's oldest son). 2. Wife is now defined as W (135) and W1 (138). In the BJ interface, View\_PersonData was updated: a mistake was fixed (c\_index\_year\_source\_id refers to a person, not a text), and the display of the index year code now shows when the index year is a derivation based on a derivation. CBDB\_BJ\_AND\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20260121 This build is part of the project to synchronize tables between the MariaDB version and the Access version. In the DATA file: 1. In ENTRY\_DATA, two field renames: - c\_nianhao\_id → c\_entry\_nh\_id (more specific identifier) - c\_parental\_status → c\_parental\_status\_code (more consistent naming) 2. SOCIAL\_INSTITUTION\_CODES: deleted the record for c\_year\_range 3. TEXT\_CODES: deleted the following fields, all now in TEXT\_INSTANCE\_DATA: c\_pub\_country, c\_pub\_dy, c\_pub\_nh\_code, c\_pub\_nh\_year, c\_pub\_range\_code, c\_pub\_year, c\_publisher, c\_pub\_loc, c\_pub\_notes In the BJ interface: 1. Updated all references to ENTRY\_DATA.c\_parental\_status → c\_parental\_status\_code 2. Updated ENTRY\_DATA.c\_nianhao\_id → c\_entry\_nh\_id in the view 3. Removed references to publisher data for TEXT\_CODES in one form CBDB\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20260126 In this build: 1. Added primary keys to EVENTS\_DATA and EVENTS\_ADDR - c\_sequence was set to 1 where it was null or 0 - In two records where c\_event\_code was NULL, event codes were added to EVENT\_CODES - Where there were duplicate primary key values, c\_sequence was incremented to ensure uniqueness 2. Deleted c\_event\_record\_id from EVENTS\_DATA and EVENTS\_ADDR 3. Added a foreign key in EVENTS\_ADDR referring to EVENTS\_DATA through c\_personid, c\_sequence, and c\_event\_code CBDB\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20260112 This build includes a series of structural changes to synchronize the Access version with the MariaDB version: A. ETHNICITY\_TRIBE\_CODES — removed dynasty fields that had been agreed upon for deletion B. EVENTS — Restructured EVENTS\_ADDR and EVENTS\_DATA; updated primary key structure; c\_event\_record\_id added as a transitional field C. MERGED\_PERSON\_DATA — c\_merged\_from\_person\_id renamed to c\_merged\_to\_person\_id; foreign key constraint resolved D. OFFICE\_CODES — c\_dy designated as NOT NULL; office code without dynasty (奉直大夫) assigned to Jin dynasty E. POSTED\_TO\_OFFICE\_DATA — c\_appt\_type\_code renamed to c\_appt\_code for consistency with APPOINTMENT\_CODES; duplicate text field removed F. SOCIAL\_INSTITUTION\_ALTNAME\_DATA — added c\_secondary\_source\_author field G. SOCIAL\_INSTITUTION\_NAME\_CODES — added missing pinyin value for code 2521 (敷文書院, Fuwen shuyuan) H. STATUS\_CODES — added missing English description for code 162 (Descendent of the Younger Ancestor lineage in the Liao dynasty) I. TEXT\_BIBLCAT\_CODES — added missing English descriptions for codes 83 (Philology: Shuowen) and 84 (Philology: Character books) J. TEXT\_INSTANCE\_DATA — corrected field types to align integer/long integer usage CBDB\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20260102 This is the companion data file for the corresponding BJ user interface build. It includes the ADMIN\_CAT table. CBDB\_BJ\_User\_Build\_20260102 This build fixes a group of important bugs in the BJ interface. Descriptions of associations and kinship have been restored in LookAtNetworks (which had been omitted when moving from BI to BJ). The logic of the last search for both kin and non-kin has been corrected: the final search looks for additional relations among people already identified who are at the maximum node distance, testing only for kinship constraints and association filtering. The ADMIN\_CAT tables have been added to the linking routine. CBDB\_BJ\_User\_Build\_20251219 This build restores the PersonIDSource table, which had been mistakenly deleted. CBDB\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20251223 This build redefines all c\_created and c\_modified fields as Date/Time. CBDB\_BJ\_AND\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20251209 This build modifies both the data file and the user interface. In the data file, a generated table ZZZ\_DISTANCE\_DATA has been added, containing Great Circle route distances for all pairs of persons appearing in either KIN\_DATA or ASSOC\_DATA who both have index address information. The code needed to update this table has been added to the tables management form. In the user interface, the new ZZZ\_DISTANCE\_DATA table is used to add distance information to the kinship and social network tables, restoring functionality that had previously been generated dynamically from the ZZZ tables. CBDB\_BJ\_User\_Build\_20251205 This build removes the debugging message boxes from LookAtNetwork. CBDB\_BJ\_AND\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20251203 This build makes the Browser form fields consistent with the newly recreated views. CBDB\_BJ\_AND\_20250520\_DATA\_Build\_20251103 This build adds ZZZ\_ADDRESSES to the DATA file and a corresponding link in the BJ user interface. The ZZZ\_ADDRESSES table is an improved version with better (but not perfect) year tracking. CBDB\_20250520\_DATA2\_Build\_20251103 This build changes the algorithm for generating ZZZ\_ADDRESSES. CBDB\_BJ\_User\_Build\_20251023 This build includes a revised version of the form frmPickEntry\_multi in which the logic of the search function has changed. The search now simply identifies all entry codes that contain the search phrase. Resetting is accomplished by clicking on any node in the node tree. CBDB\_BJ\_USER\_AND\_DATA\_Build\_20251021 This build adds MERGED\_PEOPLE\_DATA to the DATA file. CBDB\_20250520\_DATA1\_Build\_20251002 This build fixes a mistake in the index year assignment function. CBDB\_bi\_20250520\_Build20250909 This build prevents the user from selecting all association codes when selecting codes for LookAtAssociations. It also changes some field sizes in the scratch file ZZ\_SCRATCH\_ASSOC. CBDB\_bi\_20250520\_Build20250709 This build fixes the Ouyang Xiu and Pang Ji kinship association issue. CBDB\_bi\_20250520\_Build20250604 1. Fixed a small error in BIOG\_MAIN where 19 records had a NULL address ID yet had an address type = 1. The code for assigning the index address has been changed so that this cannot happen again, and the data in BIOG\_MAIN has been corrected so that when the address ID is NULL, the address type is also NULL. The ZZZ tables have been updated to correspond. The error had an impact on writing to Neo4j files. 2. Added 除授類別 (appointment category) to both LookAtOffice and LookAtGroups. CBDB\_bi\_20241217\_Build20250526 This build fixes a small error in BIOG\_MAIN where 19 records had a NULL address ID yet had an address type = 1. The code for assigning the index address has been changed so that this cannot happen again, and the data in BIOG\_MAIN has been corrected so that when the address ID is NULL, the address type is also NULL. The ZZZ tables have been updated to correspond. The error had an impact on writing to Neo4j files. [**Change History**](/cbdb-sources)