Recording Corporate Entities

Introduction

Corpoarte Entities are an important kind of node within the China Historical Database (CHCD). As a node in the database, corporate enties provide structures of belonging that link instituions and people together in hierchical, non-hierachical, and non-geographical ways. Further, corporate entities are typically used for framing academic fields (e.g. Jesuit Studies, Methodist Studies, etc.), and this means that they can be uased as units of analysis within the database.

This documentation provides guidelines to help you format your own data collection sheets so that the data can be readily cleaned and inputted into the CHCD. Each section provides a description of what is being recorded, a general format for how to record, and examples.

Defining a Corporate Entity in the CHCD.

In the CHCD, an corporate entity is defined as any Christian organization which cannot reasonably be assigned a geographic location (i.e. a fixed latitude and longitude) and which exists over an extended period of time. Typical examples include denominations, dioceses, mission sending agencies, and administrative divisions within an orgnization. This definition sets them apart from Institutions (which can be assigned a geographic location) and Events (which do not tend to exist over an extended period of time). If there is any confusion on how to categorize an organization, please contact the CHCD project team.

Note: These general formats are suggestions for use in your own data collection, however, please refer to Data Collection Basics before designing your own spreadsheets.

Identifying Static Properties

These are general properties which are recorded non-relationally in the database. They are identifying because they are generally unique to each corporate entity.

Below is a list of identifying static properties which should be recorded if your historical document contains them.

abbreviation

Text

FORMAT

Abbreviation

EXAMPLES

MEC-YC
SJ

historical_alternate_abbreviation

Text

FORMAT

Abbreviation

EXAMPLES

MX-YC
SI

name_western

The official or most common English name of the corporate entity or a reasonable English translation.

FORMAT

Corporate Entity Name

EXAMPLES

Yunnan Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church
The Society of Jesus

alternative_name_western

Alternate names in English or other Western (e.g. Latin, Dutch, etc.). List common spellings and alternate names that the institution is recorded under. If listing more than one name, use a semicolon to separate the entries. Separate the names by a semicolon.

FORMAT

Alternative Name; Alternative Name; ...

EXAMPLES

Methodist New Connection Yunnan Conference
Societas Iesu; Jesuits

chinese_name_romanized

Chinese name of the corporate entity in Romanized script, pinyin first followed by any other spelling system. Alternative spellings with a semicolon. Designate the romanization system by abbreviation when possible.

Here is a list of the most common romanization systems utilized with suggested abbreviation:

• (py): Hanyu pinyin
• (wg): Wade-Giles
• (y): Yale
• (lsw): Latinhua Sin Wenz
• (gr): Gwoyeu Romatzyh (National Romanization)
• (j2): Juyin II
• (po): Chinese Post Office System
• (rt): Ricci-Trigault System
• (ef): Système de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient

FORMAT

Corporate Entity Name (system); Corporate Entity Name (system); ...

EXAMPLES

Mei yi mei hui yun nan hui yi (py)
Yesu hui (py)

chinese_alternative_name_romanized

Alternate Chinese names, including different spellings, under which the corporate entity is recorded. If listing more than one name, use a semicolon to separate the entries. Designate the romanization system by abbreviation when possible.

Here is a list of the most common romanization systems utilized with suggested abbreviation:

• (py): Hanyu pinyin
• (wg): Wade-Giles
• (y): Yale
• (lsw): Latinhua Sin Wenz
• (gr): Gwoyeu Romatzyh (National Romanization)
• (j2): Juyin II
• (po): Chinese Post Office System
• (rt): Ricci-Trigault System
• (ef): Système de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient

FORMAT

Alternative Name (system); Alternative Name (system);

EXAMPLE

Wei li gong hui xin lian jie yun nan hui yi (py)
Yesu hui jiao fu (py)

chinese_name_hanzi

The most official or most common Chinese name of the corporate entity, typed in traditional (i.e. non-simplified) characters [繁體字].

FORMAT

法人實體名稱

EXAMPLES

美以美會雲南會議
耶穌會

chinese_alternative_name_hanzi

Alternate Chinese names used by the corporate entity. Alternate names should be types in traditional (i.e. non-simplified) characters.

FORMAT

法人實體名稱; 法人實體名稱; ...

EXAMPLE

衛理新連雲南會議
耶穌會教父

china_start_date

List the date on which the corporate entity began work in China. Use the Gregorian calendar in the following order, separated by semicolon: day; month; year. If only a Chinese lunar calendar date is available to you, use a calendrical concordance to convert it to the Gregorian calendar.

*Note: If only a year or month is available, you may leave off more specific date components.

FORMAT

YYYY; MM; DD

EXAMPLES

1860; 05
1583

china_end_date

List the date on which the corporate entity ceased work in China. Use the Gregorian calendar in the following order, separated by semicolon: day; month; year. If only a Chinese lunar calendar date is available to you, use a calendrical concordance to convert it to the Gregorian calendar. If the organization is still act

*Note: If only a year or month is available, you may leave off more specific date components. If the corporate entity is still in existence and active in China, then use the value “active” to denote its continuing presence.

FORMAT

YYYY; MM; DD

EXAMPLES

1939
active

nationality

If the corporate entity was affiliated with people from a specific area, list the modern nation-state which occupies the same geographic location as the birthplace of those individuals. If the organization was international in composition, “International” can be provided as a value.

FORMAT

Country

EXAMPLES

United States of America
International

corporate_entity_category

This property records the kind of corporate entity being recorded. These properties are a set list, but more specific categorization can be achieved with the corporate_entity_subcategory property.

Currently, this property has three potential values:

• Voluntary Association = Used to denote organizations such as goodwill societies, charitable associations, etc.
• Military = Used to designate the military and paramilitary groups which explicitly identify as Christian.
• Religious Body = Used to denote to ecclessiastical, parachurch, and mission organizations.
• Administrative Subunit = Used to denoate administrative divisions within a broader organization.

FORMAT

Type

EXAMPLES

Administrative Subunit
Religious Body

corporate_entity_subcategory

This property describes the specific type of the corporate entity being recorded. There is not currently a set list of values, but it is best practice to follow the descriptors of historical documents. If multiple subcategories can be used, separate them using a semicolon.

FORMAT

Subcategory

EXAMPLES

Mission Conference
Roman Catholic Order

Documentational Static Properties

These are documentational properties which are recorded non-relationally in the database. They are documentational because they record additional notes and source material.

Below is a list of documentational static properties which should be recorded if your historical document contains them.

notes

Add any additional pertinent information that cannot be recorded any of the other static categories. There is no standardized format for this property.

FORMAT

No set format.

EXAMPLE

Run mostly by Methodists from Pennsylvania.
Supressed between 1773 and 1813.

source

List the sources where the information in this table has been found, followed by page number in parenthesis. Indicate first major reference sources used, then more focused sources if some specific information is not in main reference sources (indicate what). Sources can be indicated in abbreviated form or with acronyms (e.g Dehergne Repertoire, 159).

FORMAT

Source Information [Page #]; Source Information [Page #];

EXAMPLE

Eugenio Menegon, “Ricci, Francesco,” in  Dizionario biografico degli Italiani, vol X, Roma, Istituto Treccani, 2016 [XX]; For name in Chinese see ARSI, Japonica Sinica XXX [XX]

Classifying Properties

These are general properties which describe the religious identity of a corporate entity. They are classifying because they allow institutions to be organized according to standard forms of religious belonging.

Below is a list of classifying static properties which should be recorded if your historical document contains them.

christian_tradition

This property records the broad Christian tradition to which the institution belonged. Institutional belonging can be dictated the by religious belonging of individuals at the institution or by property rights and usage (e.g. a Protestant-identified group owned the building).

This property has five potential values:

• Protestant
• Catholic
• Orthodox
• Unknown
• Non-Christian

FORMAT

Tradition

EXAMPLES

Protestant
Catholic

religious_family

This property records the subgrouping to which an institution belonged.

For Protestants this includes groupings such as: Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist etc. For Catholics, this includes groupings within a common general tradition, rule, or order, such as: Augustinian, Benedictine, Franciscan, Ignatian, etc. These large ‘regular’ orders were often composed of subgroups (e.g. Discalced Augustinians, Observant Friars Minor, Reformed Friars Minor, etc.). Groups which do not generally fall into a clearly defined family can be labeled as “Independent”

FORMAT

Religious Family

EXAMPLES

Methodist
Ignatian

Relationships

Corporate Entity nodes can have three kinds of relationships in the CHCD:

• PART_OF: This links Person, Institution, and Event nodes to Corporate Entity nodes.
• CONNECTED_TO: This links Corporate Entity nodes to other Corporate Entity nodes.
• INVOLVED_WITH: This links Corporate Entity nodes to Publication nodes.

These three categories are devised so as to offer a range of flexibility in recording different types of relationships, while also providing a framework to organize them. When designing your spreadsheet and recording data, it is good to keep these basic relationships in mind. Below are descriptions of each relationships and an example of how it might be recorded in a spreadsheet.

PART_OF

Typically, this is used to connect a person, institution, or corporate entity to its organizational hierarchy (i.e. to corporate entity nodes). For Protestants, this usually records the specific denomination, missionary body, mission administrative division, or sending agency (e.g. the Church Missionary Society, the True Jesus Church, the South China Conference of the Assemblies of God, etc.) to which an institution or person belonged. For Catholics and Orthodox, this usually indicate the specific diocese, province, or vicarate that an institution or person belonged to (e.g. Luan Diocese, Vice Province of China, etc.)

This relationship also has its own properties which can be used to record data about the nature of the relationship. They are as follows:

• relationship_type : A one or two word descriptor of the institution’s relationship to the corporate entity
• start_year : Records the starting year of the relationship, also used if no end date to the relationship is available.
• start_month : Records the starting month of the relationship, also used if no end date to the relationship is available.
• start_day : Records the starting day of the relationship, also used if no end date to the relationship is available.
• end_year : Records the ending year of the relationship.
• end_month : Records the ending year of the relationship.
• end_day : Records the ending year of the relationship.
• note : Records any additional information about the relationship.
• source : Records the source in which the relationship is attested.

NOTE ON COLLECTING PART_OF RELATIONSHIPS

This property is most commonly used to capture hierarchies of administration (e.g. a church is part of a diocese, a mission is part of a conference, etc.). As historical sources may not include all of this data, it is important to adapt one’s spreadsheet to fit the nature of the source for the sake of efficiency. When entering data, make it clear in table headings which kind of data is being collected in the column.

Also, it is important to remember that all relationships in the CHCD are directional. This is especially important for PART_OF relationships, which tend to run in only one direction (e.g. X is part of Y, but Y is not part of X). Please keep this in mind as you record your data.

Lastly, the CHCD project team maintains a running list of abbreviations for the most common Christian organizations in operation in China throughout the time period of the project. This list can be found here. Please feel free to use these abbreviations to help your data entry be more efficient.

EXAMPLE HEADER FORMAT

Corporate Entity; Relationship Type; Start YYYY; End YYYY

EXAMPLE ENTRIES

MEC South China Conference; Member
Diocese of Luan; Church; 1920; 1935

CONNECTED_TO

This is used to connect corporate entities to other corporate entities. Besides making it possible to construct organizational hierarchies, this relationship also allows researchers to denote partnerships or collaborations between organizations.

This relationship also has its own properties which can be used to record data about the nature of the relationship. They are as follows:

• relationship_type : A one or two word descriptor of the institution’s relationship to the corporate entity
• start_year : Records the starting year of the relationship, also used if no end date to the relationship is available.
• start_month : Records the starting month of the relationship, also used if no end date to the relationship is available.
• start_day : Records the starting day of the relationship, also used if no end date to the relationship is available.
• end_year : Records the ending year of the relationship.
• end_month : Records the ending year of the relationship.
• end_day : Records the ending year of the relationship.
• note : Records any additional information about the relationship.
• source : Records the source in which the relationship is attested.

NOTE ON COLLECTING CONNECTED_TO RELATIONSHIPS

This relationship is most commonly used to capture hierarhies of administration (e.g. a diocese is part of an archdiocese, a mission conference is part of a mission agency, etc.). As historical sources may not include all of this data, it is important to adapt one’s spreadsheet to fit the nature of the source for the sake of efficiency. When entering data, make it clear in table headings which kind of data is being collected in the column.

Also, it is important to remember that all relationships in the CHCD are directional. This is especially important for CONNECTED_TO relationships, which tend to run in only one direction (e.g. X is a subunit of Y, but Y is not a subunit of X). Please keep this in mind as you record your data.

Lastly, the CHCD project team maintains a running list of abbreviations for the most common Christian organizations in operation in China throughout the time period of the project. This list can be found here. Please feel free to use these abbreviations to help your data entry be more efficient.

EXAMPLE HEADER FORMAT

Corporate Entity; Relationship Type

EXAMPLE ENTRIES

MEC China Mission; Subunit of
Archdiocese of Taiyuan; Subunit of

INVOLVED_WITH

This relationship category is used to connect Publications to People, Institutions, Corporate Entities, Events, General Areas, or other Publications.

This relationship also has its own properties which can be used to record data about the nature of the relationship. They are as follows:

• relationship_type : A one or two word descriptor of the node’s relationship to the publication.
• start_year : Records the starting year of the relationship, also used if no end date to the relationship is available.
• start_month : Records the starting month of the relationship, also used if no end date to the relationship is available.
• start_day : Records the starting day of the relationship, also used if no end date to the relationship is available.
• end_year : Records the ending year of the relationship.
• end_month : Records the ending year of the relationship.
• end_day : Records the ending year of the relationship.
• note : Records any additional information about the relationship.
• source : Records the source in which the relationship is attested.

NOTE ON COLLECTING INVOLVED_WITH RELATIONSHIPS

This relationship type is designed to allow for flexibility when linking other nodes to publications. Therefore, the relationship_type property of the relationship is important for providing more detail about the nature of the connection. Below are some examples of possible relationship types between nodes (this list is not exhaustive):

• Person -> Publication: editor, author, contributor, subscriber, reader
• Institution -> Publication: published, funded, commissioned, supported
• CorporateEntity -> Publication: published, funded, commissioned, supported
• Event -> Publication: recorded in, promoted, distributed at
• Publication -> General Area: published in
• Publication -> Publication: second edition, sequel, part of, issue of, responding to

EXAMPLE HEADER FORMAT

Publication; Start YYYY; End YYYY; Relationship Type; Geography Code; Note

EXAMPLE ENTRIES

Monumenta Serica; 1921; 1930; Co-editor; Was the founding editor.
The Chinese Recorder; 1885; Issue of; sixteenth volume;

Example Spreadsheets

As stated throughout, make sure to design your spreadsheet to work most efficiently with your source materials. That said, it can be helpful to see examples of spreadsheets in action.

SPREADSHEET 1: SINGLE PERSON RESEACH

This sort of spreadsheet might be useful if you are inputting data from a personal archive or biography.

Spreadsheet 1

SPREADSHEET 2: MULTI-PERSON RESEARCH

This sort of spreadsheet might be useful if you are working through a institutional archive, necrology, or specialized directory.

Spreadsheet 2