Front Page

Slide
Slide
Slide
Slide
Slide
Slide
Slide
Slide
Slide

HUMANUM is a research-oriented web site maintained by the Research Centre for Humanities Computing founded as early as 1994, then under the Research Institute for Humanities, Faculty of Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The site started with Meta-indexing work (now decommissioned) but switched very quickly to the preparation of searchable electronic texts of philosophical classics and other thematic web pages, and finally focused on the implementation of online databases, with the “Multi-function Chinese Character Database” being its signature product. As of summer 2022, the Research Centre for Humanities Computing is reassigned to the Philosophy Department.

Read More
Read More
Read More
Read More
Read More
Read More
漢語多功能字庫
Multi-function Chinese Character Database

To provide support for contemporary Chinese education, the “Research Centre for Humanities Computing” launched in the summer of 2014 the “Multi-Function Chinese Character Database”, which covers to date 15401 Chinese characters with the Big5 characters as backbone, featuring functions such as “Archaic Script tokens”, “Componential Trees”, “Etymology accounts”, and “English-Chinese Index”, etc.

Four years later, in the summer of 2018, the centre further launched an enhanced version of the Database. Besides updating a large number of entries in the etymology section, new functions were added, including “Guangyun 廣韻Middle Ancient Syllabary”, “Pronunciations in 20 Dialects”, full-text index of Shuowen Jiezi《說文》, geographical names in Gu Zuyu’s Du Shi Fangyu Jiyao 讀史方輿紀要 (literally Compendium of Historical Geography), and “Idioms Collection”. The Centre remains fully engaged in strengthening the “infrastructure” for the future education and research of Chinese language and script. In 2020, the CUHK Department of Philosophy has selected Prof. Tze-wan Kwan’s research project, which involved the “Multi-function Chinese Character Database” as main ingredient, as the sole project representing the department for the impact case studies module of the RAE exercise, which resulted in the project being rated with the highest rank of 4* (world leading) by the review panel.

Enter Web Page
Powered by
林語堂當代漢英詞典
Lin Yutang’s Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage

The Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage was the signature academic output of the celebrated Professor Lin Yutang during his tenure as Research Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1967 to 1972. The production of the Web edition of Lin’s Dictionary was undertaken by the Research Centre for Humanities Computing with the authorisation of the Chinese University Press. The web edition was built is on the basis of the first edition of the work (hereafter called “the original edition”) published in 1972 by the Chinese University Press.

The dictionary comprises a total of 8,169 head characters, together with 44,407 explanatory entries of grammatical usage and 40,379 entries of Chinese words or phrases. The web edition of the dictionary was constructed in the form of a mini-database, which allows the dictionary text to be queried in a “search mode” (by entering search arguments in the top bar) as well as accessed in a “browse mode” (by navigating through the indices listed in the frame on the left).

The “search mode” comprises “head character search” as well as “full text search”, the former helps locate the dictionary entry of a particular character, while the latter allows the user to perform various kinds of query on the entire dictionary text. Search arguments can be inputted either in Chinese or in English, or even mixed. Search options supported by our full text search engine are: basic Boolean operations, case observed or ignored, choice between whole- and sub-string search, and choice between sequential order (順序) or reverse order (逆序) matching etc. To facilitate usage, the original romanisation scheme with Guoryuu Romatzyh (國語羅馬字)  has been systematically replaced by Hanyu Pinyin (漢語拼音)

Enter Web Page
Powered by
儒學詞典
Lexicon of Confucianism

The compilation of the Lexicon of Confucianism was conceived in the summer of 1986, when Professor Lao Sze-kwang had just retired from the Department of Philosophy, but was still serving as senior research fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, CUHK. Professor Lao received a provisional contract from Scarecrow Press, UK, for the publication of a Lexicon of Confucianism. With this in mind Professor Lao started to write a series of short entries on Confucianism in the hope that these entries might be translated upon completion in to English to meet the publication requirement. To kick start the process Professor Lao named Cheung Chan-fai and Kwan Tze-wan of the CUHK as well as William Ng of HKBU as editors of the lexicon project. So in about a year, the lexicon gradually took shape. In terms of structure, the lexicon is divided into four main parts, namely , “1-Classics”, “2-Commentaries”, “3-Personalities”, and “4-Concepts”. While Parts 1, 2 and 4 were all written by Professor Lao himself, Part 3 for “personalities”, upon Professor Lao’s suggestion, was drafted by William Ng and revised by Professor Lao. Later on in 1989, Professor Lao took up a visiting professorship at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and the work on the lexicon came to a standstill, and in 1995 the Scarecrow Press stopped operation. In 1997, a few years after the founding of the Research Centre for Humanities Computing, the centre director proposed to have the lexicon-in-the-making put up as a web page for public access, and for intermittent augmentation and revision. This proposal was positively received by Professor Lao, hence the webpage as it now stands. After Prof. Lao’s passing in 2012, the Centre obtained the manuscripts he left behind, including the original manuscript of the Lexicon of Confucianism. With resources of the Department of Philosophy and the help of the Centre, these manuscripts were electronically processed and put up as online resources under the rubric of  “Manuscripts of Professor Lao Sze-kwang (勞思光先生存稿整編)”  in November 2015 for the reference of scholars far and wide. All in all, the Lexicon of Confucianism was the earliest project launched by the Research Centre for Humanities Computing. The experience accumulated in preparing this lexicon remains significant for the subsequent development of the Centre’s work.

Attachment:  勞思光先生存稿整編 URL: http://phil.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/project/LSK_mss/

 

Enter Web Page
Powered by
粵語審音配詞字庫
Chinese Character Database: With Word-formations Phonologically Disambiguated according to the Cantonese Dialect

This character database is so named to reflect its main feature of “phonological disambiguation through provision of word formations”. For the Chinese language, the three cardinal elements of “script”, “pronunciation”, and “meaning” constitute a typically “triangular” relationship which is further complicated by the presence of heteronyms（多音字）and “variegated” heteronyms (破音字), making the correct use of Chinese characters a great challenge for all learners, including native Chinese themselves. Based on 4 authoritative syllabaries as listed below, this database attempts to line up the pronunciation(s) for each character, and by providing word formations for each way of pronunciation of the character in question, users may effectively judge how that character may be correctly used when pronounced in a certain manner or when pronounced otherwise.

  • WONG, Shik Ling, A Chinese Syllabary Pronounced according to the Dialect of Canton (Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book Co. (H.K.) Ltd., 1991).
  • LI, Choh Ming, Lishi Zhongwen Zidian, 2nd edition (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1989).
  • ZHOU, Wuji and RAO, Bingcai, Guangzhouhua Biaozhunyin Zihui (Hong Kong: The Commercial Press (HK) Ltd, 1988).
  • Richard Man Wui HO and CHU, Kwok Fan, Yueyin Zhengdu Zihui, 2nd edition (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Educational Publishing Co., 2001).

 

Enter Web Page
Powered by
香港、大陸、臺灣 – 跨地區、跨年代現代漢語常用字頻度統計
Chinese Character Frequency Statistics for Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan – A Transregional, Diachronic Survey

The basic work of this project was carried out between 1992 and 1998 by the “Interdisciplinary Comparative Research Group for Human Cognition” headed by Professor Ho Hsiu-hwang of the Department of Philosophy. When the project was completed, a set of 14 research reports, including basic statistical tables and various transregional and cross-epoch comparison tables were printed out for submission to the funding body, as a summary of the research. Three years later in early 2001, the director of the Research Centre for Humanities Computing suggested to Professor Ho that the relevant research materials can best be reorganized with information technology and published on the internet for wider and easier access. This proposal was fully supported by Professor Ho, thus the present form of the project database. Regarding characters frequency statistics, works have been done many times both in mainland China and in Taiwan, with considerable results. As for Hong Kong, nothing has so far been undertaken (except for word frequencies statistics). In this regard, the implementation of Professor Ho’s project is highly commendable. What is even more commendable is that this project embraces a comparative strategy of “cross-regionality” and “cross-epochality”, i.e “diachronism”, which opened up a new dimension for word frequency research. Therefore, in the process of repackaging Professor Ho’s statistical data for the Internet, the most important task of the Centre is to implement new gadgets to do justice to this new strategy.

 

Enter Web Page
Powered by
兩文三語教育網上支援計劃
Education Towards Biliteracy and Trilingualism: An Internet Support Project

This project was funded by the Quality Education Fund of the Hong Kong SAR Government since 1999 and was operated by the Research Centre for Humanities Computing, RIH, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The mission of the project is to use information technology in the service of biliteracy and trilingualism, as highlighted in the mission statements of the SAR government. The main work of the project is to design and produce a series of online language tools (such as phonetic syllabaries, lexica, etc.) and compile other online language reference materials in support of the teaching of Chinese and English language in the Hong Kong school sector. After more than three years, the project was officially completed by the end of November 2002.

 

Enter Web Page
Powered by