The China Biographical Database: Contents, Structure and Future Development 中國歷代人物傳記資料庫：內容、結構與未來的發展

Created on : July 29, 2015

Speakers: Michael Fuller, Deng Xiaonan, Chen Song, Fang Chengfeng, Liu Jiang

The China Biographical Database: Contents, Structure, and Future Development

Title slide: The China Biographical Database - Contents, Structure, and Future Development, with five speakers, at the 2008 Harvard workshop.

Section slide: Relational Databases and CBDB Structure.

Slide on modelling data: a flat database with People as a single entity, cramming Sima Guang's dates, offices and associates into three wide columns.

Slide 'Relational Database': the same data split into entities - name and dates, a postings table of three offices, an associations table of five relations.

Schema diagram: BIOG_MAIN at the centre linked by Person ID to ALT NAMES, WRITINGS, ENTRY, ASSOCIATIONS, SOCIAL STATUS, KINSHIP, POSTINGS and BIOG ADDR.

Schema diagram of the office tables: BIOG_MAIN to POSTINGS to OFFICE CODES, then OFFICE DATA, OFFICE CODE_TYPE REL and OFFICE TYPES.

Slide 'A Subset of Data on Sima Guang': people, postings and associations tables joined by numeric IDs to office-title and association-type code tables.

Screenshot of the data-entry interface, with help text showing how one character lists names containing it, beginning with it, or matching its pinyin.

Screenshot of the entry interface for Lv Zuqian, numbered 1 to 3: the name search box, tabs for each data category, and the Basic form with dates.

Screenshot of the code-table editor: a tree of code tables on the left, the office-name table on the right with 3,794 records, code and pinyin.

Screenshot of the query interface: a left panel of fields for name, index year, dates, choronym, address and office, with instructions on the right.

Screenshot of the MS Access desktop version: a form with Enter Biographical Data and four query buttons for individuals, entry, kinship and networks.