Recording Institutions

Introduction

Institutions make up the second largest form of node within the China Historical Database (CHCD). They are important on a data model level as they are the primary way people nodes are connected to geographic nodes. On a historical level, they are among the most important connecting points for Christian activity and community. Because of their importance, the database has numerous properties which can be used to record information about them.

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 an Institution in the CHCD.

In the CHCD, an institution is defined as any Christian organization which can reasonably be assigned a geographic location and which exists over an extended period of time. Typical examples include churches, missions, schools, and medical facilities. This definition sets them apart from Corporate Entities (which lack the ability to 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 institution.

Below is a list of identifying static properties which should be recorded if your historical document contains them.

name_western

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

FORMAT

Institution Name

EXAMPLES

Chefoo Mission for the Blind
The Church of the Savior

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

German Home for the Blind; Chefoo Blindenheim
North Church; Northern Church of Beijing

chinese_name_romanized

Chinese name of institution 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

Institution Name (system); Institution Name (system); ...

EXAMPLES

Yan tai man gren zhi jia (py)
Jiu shi zhu tang (py)

chinese_alternative_name_romanized

Alternate Chinese names, including different spellings, under which the institution 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

De guo mang ren zhi jia (py)
Bei tang (py); Xi shen ku tian zhu tang (py); hsi shih k'u t'ien chu t'ang (wg)

chinese_name_hanzi

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

FORMAT

機構名稱

EXAMPLES

煙台盲人之家
救世主堂

chinese_alternative_name_hanzi

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

FORMAT

機構名稱; 機構名稱; ...

EXAMPLE

德國盲人之家
西什庫天主堂; 北堂

start_date

List the start date of the institution using the Gregorian calendar in this 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

1909; 05
1703; 02; 09

end_date

List the end date of the institution using the Gregorian calendar in this 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. If the institution is still in existence and in use, you use the value “active” to denote its continuing presence.

FORMAT

YYYY; MM; DD

EXAMPLES

1936
active

nationality

If the institution 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.

FORMAT

Country

EXAMPLES

Germany
China

institution_category

This property records the primary type of work being done at the institution being recorded. These properties are a set list, but more specific categorization can be achieved with the institution_subcategory property.

Currently, this property has eight potential values:

• Education: Used for universities, schools, training camps, etc.
• Medical: Used for clinics, hospitals, sanitoriums, etc.
• Ecclesial: Used for churches, mission stations, chapels, etc.
• Press: Used for printing presses or other publishing related institutions.
• Real Estate: Used for land holdings or other revenue producing real properties.
• Rescue: Used for orphanages, anti-sex trafficking institutions, and similar endeavors.
• Scientific: Used for laboratories, research facilities, and similar endeavors.
• Other: Used for any other miscellaneous types of institutions.

FORMAT

Type

EXAMPLES

Rescue
Ecclesial

institution_subcategory

This property records the specific type of the institution 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; Subcategory; ...

EXAMPLES

Orphanage
Church; Catechetical School

gender_served

Many institutions were gender-specific in their methods, aims, and/or goals. This property can be utilized to demarcate this specialization.

This property has three potential values:

• M = Male. The institution is oriented toward the service of men and/or boys.
• F = Female. The institution is oriented toward the service of women and/or girls.
• X = Mixed. The institution is oriented toward the service of individuals regardless of their gender.

FORMAT

Gender

EXAMPLES

M
F

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

Occasionally funded by grants from German government.
Was under siege during the Boxer Rebellion.

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 belonging of an institutions. 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
Orthodox

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. Groups which do not generally fall into a clearly defined family can be labeled as “Independent”

Institutional belonging can be dictated the by religious belonging of individuals at the institution or by property rights and usage (e.g. a Methodist-identified group owned the building).

*Note: Large ‘regular’ orders were often composed of subgroups (e.g. Discalced Augustinians, Observant Friars Minor, Reformed Friars Minor, etc.). The specific subgroup to which an institution belonged can be recorded with the religious_body property.

FORMAT

Religious Family

EXAMPLES

Lutheran
Franciscan

religious_body

This property records the specific organization to which the institution belonged. For Protestants, this could denote a specific denomination, missionary organization, or sending agency (e.g. United Methodist Church, China Inland Mission, Young Men’s Christian Association, etc.) For Catholics, this indicates the specific religious order or sending agency (e.g. Discalced Carmelites; Society of Jesus; Propaganda Fide, etc.). This property will be transformed into relational data in the database, so the value should be a Corporate Entity.

FORMAT

Religious Body

EXAMPLES

China Inland Mission
Society of Jesus

Relationships

Institution nodes can have three kinds of relationships in the CHCD:

• LOCATED_IN: This links Institution nodes to Geography nodes.
• LINKED_TO: This links Event nodes and Institution nodes to each other.
• PART_OF: This links Person, Institution, and Event nodes to Corporate Entity nodes.
• PRESENT_AT: This links Person nodes to Institution or Event nodes.
• INVOLVED_WITH: This links Institution nodes to Publication nodes.

These five 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.

LOCATED_IN

This relationship is among the most important in the database and connects an institution or event to a geography node. More colloquially, this is how the database records the location of an event or institution. In the database, this relationship enables these nodes (and people who are connected to them) to be connected to geographic coordinates.

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

• 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 LOCATED_IN RELATIONSHIPS

Historical locations in China can, at times, be difficult to locate depending on the nature of the source and the location in question. Various romanization systems, shifting administrative divisions, and changing names can make locating historical sources difficult. For this reason, the CHCD has chosen to always record the place name as listed in a historical source.

At the same time, the CHCD uses a Geography System that corresponds to a modern administrative map of China. While limited, this use of the multi-level geography system allows us to capture historical geographic data that is precise to varying degrees. As such, when collecting data, it is a best practice to relate the historic location to its most specific modern equivalent and include the corresponding CHCD geography code.

EXAMPLE HEADER FORMAT

Institution; Historic Place Name; Modern Location; Geocode

EXAMPLE ENTRIES

Chefoo Mission for the Blind; Zhifu District, Yantai; C1497
Church of the Savior; Peking; Xicheng District, Beijing; C2513

LINKED_TO

This can be used to connect Institution nodes to other Institution nodes or Event nodes. Importantly, this means “linked to” in the broadest sense of the word.

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 other institution.
• 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 LINKED_TO RELATIONSHIPS

Instutions are often situated in hierarchies with Corporate Entities above them (i.e. a church might be part of a diocese). At the same time, there were many kinds of direct relationships between institutions.

Also, it is important to remember that all relationships in the CHCD are directional. Sometimes, this directionality is meaningless (e.g. X is a partner institution to Y and Y is a partner institution to X), but sometimes it means that the relationship_type property is true in only one direction (e.g. X is overseen by Y, but Y is not overseen by X). Please keep this in mind as you record your data.

EXAMPLE HEADER FORMAT

Temporary ID of Institution 1; Relationship Type; Temporary ID of Institution 2; Start YYYY; End YYYY; Note

EXAMPLE ENTRIES

I023; Oversees; I035; 1925; 1943
I024; Partner Institution to; I120; 1945
I024; Oversees; I002; --; --; This began as a semi-independent medical facility.

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 hiearhies 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

Religious Body; Relationship Type; Start YYYY; End YYYY

EXAMPLE ENTRIES

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

PRESENT_AT

This relationship category is used to connect People to Institutions and Events, and thus to record where they were located in China (see note below).

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 person’s relationship to the institution or event.
• 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 PRESENT_AT RELATIONSHIPS

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.

Please remember, in the CHCD, geography is controlled by allowing only institutions and events to have geographic locations (For more on this design choice, see Database Design and [Geography]/data-collection/docs/geography/). As such, persons are not directly linked to geographic nodes in the database. Due to this, one should use placeholder institutions when a person is present in a location, but is not institutionally affiliated. For more on the correct formatting of placeholder institutions, see Placeholder Institutions.

EXAMPLE HEADER FORMAT

Institution; Start YYYY; Relationship Type; Recorded Place Name; Modern Place Name; Geography Code; Note

EXAMPLE ENTRIES

Jesuit College of Macao; 1921; Guest; Macau; Macao; C979; Worked as pharmacist while present.
General Area (Shanxi); 1933; Evangelist; Shansi; Shanxi; C979;

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