New Electronic Resource!
Classical Chinese Collection Now Available Online
The Libraries’ subscription to the
Siku Quanshu database provides
scholars with online access to two
thousand years of classical Chinese
literature, history, philosophy, and
science. Traditionally referred to as
the Complete Collection of the Four
Treasures, the compilation is based
on the traditional classification of
Chinese works in classics, history,
philosophy, and belles-lettres.
The Siku collection has an intriguing
history. In 1773 Emperor Qianlong
ordered a group of scholars to compile
all significant Chinese texts on all
subjects known to scholars at that time
(except those that were censored, but
that’s a longer story). As the largest
series ever compiled in China, it
contains 3,693 titles in 36,000 volumes.
Considering the duration of many
20th-century scholarly projects, it is
impressive to note that the project was
completed in only nineteen years.
The Siku collection is widely
considered the most important source
for classical Chinese studies, and the
online database has quickly become
a high-use resource. Prof. Michael
Fuller of the East Asian Languages and
Literatures Department observes that “The online searchable Siku
Quanshu is an invaluable research tool that
has vastly enlarged our access to the
textual legacy of pre-modern China.
We can now explore the development
of terms, images, and concepts over
a two-thousand year period, and the
source texts for our searches greatly
exceed what earlier scholars could
have hoped to examine.”
Produced by the Chinese University
Press in Hong Kong, the online version
of the Siku collection includes a full
array of search capabilities, as well as
the ability to annotate and manipulate
particular sections of text. At present the
Siku is available only at two designated
workstations on Level One of Langson
Library that are equipped with special
software; the required password is
available at the Reference desk upon
request. We anticipate that in spring
2005 the database will be upgraded to
a web-based service available via your
desktop, and that passwords will no
longer be required for UC users.
For more information, please contact Asian
Studies Librarian Bill Wong (wswong@uci.edu
or x48147).
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