Song Research Tools   

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Song Research Tools is an online guide to bibliographies, indexes, dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases and chronologies of use to those interested in all aspects of Chinese society during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The history of this guide goes back to Peter Bol's (Harvard University) Research Tools for the Study of Sung History, published in 1990 as part of the Monograph Series of the Journal of Sung-Yuan Studies. The second edition was published in 1996. In 2003, Hilde De Weerdt (Leuven University) created an online edition, titled Song Research Tools. This online edition went through a major update in November 2006 when more than 200 new titles were added. The online guide allows the viewers to browse and download the entire content.

A new print edition of the guide Bao Pide 包弼德 [Peter Bol] and Wei Xide 魏希德 [Hilde De Weerdt], rev., Songdai yanjiu gongju shukan zhinan (xiuding ban) 宋代研究工具書刊指南(修訂版) [Guide to Reference Works for Song Dynasty Research--Revised Edition] was published by Guangxi shifan daxue chubanshe 廣西師範大學出版社 in 2007. In this print edition all titles have been arranged thematically according to a detailed classification scheme. The full text of the online edition retains the original layout of the guide which was based on reference genres. The revised and updated print edition was supported by a Harvard-Yenching Postdoctoral Fellowship in Print Culture and Library Studies (Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, Harvard University, 2004-2005).

For general comments and suggestions, contact Xiong Huei-Lan.

Acknowledgments

Throughout the course of its history many individuals have contributed to the guide. Special thanks are due to Peter Bol, Timothy Connor, Don J. Wyatt, Andrew Liu, Milan Hetjmanek, Thomas Selover, Anthony DeBlasi, Chu Ping-tzu, Stuart Sargent and Huang Kuanchong. Hilde De Weerdt edited the online guide with the help of Naoki Nagai, Zhao Mingtao and Wei Jiang.

The following sources have been particularly helpful in compiling Song Research Tools:

• David L. McMullen. Concordances and Indexes to Chinese Texts. San Francisco: Chinese Materials Center, 1975.
• Robert Hartwell. “Medieval Chinese Historiography.” Unpublished course handout, ca. 1975.
• Wm. Theodore de Bary et al. “A Selected Bibliography of Reference Books for Sung and Yuan Neo-Confucianism.” Unpublished, ca. 1980.
  

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why can't I display the characters properly?

• The Song Research Tools pages are encoded in Unicode. For an overview of proper browser settings go to Alan Wood's Unicode Resources.