Recording People

Introduction

People are the most numerous kind of node in the China Historical Database (CHCD). As such, the database has numerous properties which can be used to record information about people. 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.

Most of these properties cannot be conceptualized as a relationship. However, the CHCD team chose to record some relational data as static properties. This choice was made to ensure that future queries of the data did not become too complex or worse, meaningless.

Each section provides a description of what is being recorded, a general format for how to record, and examples.

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 refer primarily to a person’s personal identity and life-events.

Below is a list of identifying static properties which should be recorded if your historical document contains them.

name_western

Western language name; in the native language of the individual, if possible. For individuals with multiple names, use the name given at birth, if possible. If the birth name is not available, use the most well known name. Separate family and given name with a comma.

Note: This property will be divided into two properties when put into the database (family_name_western; given_name_western). They are combined here for data entry efficiency.

FORMAT

Family Name, Given Name(s)

EXAMPLES

Ricci, Vittorio Giovanni Battista
Song, John

alternative_name_western

Alternate names in other Western languages (e.g. Latin, Dutch, etc.). List common spellings and alternate names that the individual 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

Victorio Riccio; Victorius Riccius
Sung, John

chinese_name_romanized

Chinese name in Romanized script, pinyin first followed by any other spelling system. Separate family and given name with a comma. 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

Note: This property will be divided into two properties when put into the database (chinese_family_name_romanized; chinese_given_name_romanized). They are combined here for data entry efficiency.

FORMAT

Family, Given Name (system); Family, Given Name (system);

EXAMPLES

Li, Sheng (py)
Shang, Jie (py); Siong, Ceh (unknown)

chinese_alternative_name_romanized

Alternate Chinese names, including different spellings, under which the individual is recorded. These include the Chinese courtesy name (zi), alternative name (hao) and other courtesy or honorific names (See, chinese_alternative_name_hanzi for more types). 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

Tian En

chinese_name_hanzi

The family name [姓] and given name [名] of an individual, typed in traditional (i.e. non-simplified) characters [繁體字]. Separate the names with a comma.

Note: This property will be divided into two properties when put into the database (chinese_family_name_hanzi; chinese_given_name_hanzi). They are combined here for data entry efficiency.

FORMAT

姓, 名

EXAMPLES

利, 勝
宋, 尚節

chinese_alternative_name_hanzi

Include any zi [字] or hao [號]，or other Chinese alternate names utilized by the individual, followed by the type in parenthesis. Alternate names should be types in traditional (i.e. non-simplified) characters, and pinyin should be used to record the type.

A list of the most common name types is below:

• xing [姓]: family names
• xiaozi/xioaming [小字/小名]: childhood name
• ming [名]: given name
• zi [字]: courtesy name
• hao [號]: self-selected alternative name
• chuohao [綽號]: nickname given by others
• guanzhi/guanjue [官職/官爵]: office names
• shihao [諡號]: posthumous title granted by state
• zunhao [尊號]: honorific name granted by others
• miahao [廟號]: temple title

FORMAT

字(zi); 號(hao)

EXAMPLE

天恩 (xiaozi)

gender

Use the following notation to record the gender of an individual:

• Male
• Female
• Unknown

nationality

List the modern nation-state which occupies the same geographic location as the birthplace of the individual. Record in English.

FORMAT

Country

EXAMPLES

Italy
China

birth_date

List the date of birth in 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.

FORMAT

YYYY; MM; DD

EXAMPLES

1917; 02; 13
1901; 09; 21

birth_place

List the place of birth. The name of the place is recorded in its original language, as well as its modern English equivalent. If the location is in China, a Geography Code is added.

FORMAT

Recorded Place Name; Modern Place Name; Geography Code

EXAMPLES

Firenze; Florence; --
Wu-Chang; Wuchang District; C451

death_date

List the date of death in 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.

FORMAT

YYYY; MM; DD

EXAMPLES

1917; 02; 13
1944; 08; 18

death_place

List the place of death. The name of the place is recorded in its original language, as well as its modern equivalent. If the location is in China, a Geography Code is added.

FORMAT

Original Place Name; Modern Place Name; Geography Code

EXAMPLES

Firenze; Florence; --
Wu-Chang; Wuchang District; C451

Descriptive Static Properties

These are descriptive properties which are recorded non-relationally in the database. They are descriptive because they refer primarily to affiliations and accomplishments of the person.

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

christian_tradition

List the tradition to which this individual belongs. Only five values are accepted.

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

religious_family

List the general Christian family this person belongs to. For Protestants this includes groupings such as: Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist etc.; for Catholics, this includes groupings within a common general tradition or rule such as: Augustinian, Benedictine, Franciscan (these large ‘regular’ orders were often composed of subgroups, e.g. Discalced Augustinians; Observant or Reformed Friars Minor / Franciscans; etc.). If they belong to more than one tradition, separate by semicolon.

FORMAT

Religious Family; Religious Family

EXAMPLES

Carmelite
Methodist; Holiness

degree

Western state degrees, church degrees, or Chinese examination degrees, followed by the granting institution and the year in which they received the title, if known. If listing more than one degree, use a semicolon to separate the entries.

FORMAT

Degree, Institution (YYYY); Degree, Institution (YYYY)

EXAMPLES

Lector in Philosophy, Collegial of S. Maria Sopra Minerva College
Bachelor of Arts, Yale University (1905); Masters in Divinity (1910)

title

List all honorary and ecclesial titles obtained by individuals throughout their careers, followed by the year in which they received the title, if known. If listing more than one title, use a semicolon to separate the entries.

FORMAT

Title (YYYY); Title (YYYY)

EXAMPLES

Apostolic Prefect of Formosa; Apostolic Prefect of Terra Australis (1664)
Reverend (1937)

occupation

Occupations held before or during their time in China. Provide dates, if available. Separate by semicolon if there are more than one jobs.

Note: Occupations is used to describe more general work roles or occupations not linked to a specific place or institution. If the location or employing institution is known, see the PRESENT_AT relationship.

FORMAT

Occupation, Employer (YYYY); Occupation, Employer (YYYY)

EXAMPLES

Lecturer; Procurator
Painter; Notary; Author

Catholic-Specific Static Properties

These are properties which are recorded non-relationally in the database. They are Catholic-specific because they typically are only used by Catholic individuals.

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

baptismal_name_western

Mainly used for Chinese converts and members of religious orders. Record in English.

FORMAT

Baptismal Name

EXAMPLE

Paul

chinese_baptismal_name_romanized

Mainly used for Chinese converts. Chinese baptismal name in Romanized script, pinyin first followed by any other spelling system. 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

xi ming (py)

EXAMPLE

Bao Lu (py)

chinese_baptismal_name_hanzi

The baptismal name [洗名] of an individual, typed in traditional (i.e. non-simplified) characters [繁體字].

FORMAT

 洗名

EXAMPLE

保祿

baptism

The date and place (if known) of the individual’s baptism.

FORMAT

 DD/MM/YYY; Place

EXAMPLE

24/10/1765; Provence, France

confirmation

The date and place (if known) of the individual’s confirmation.

FORMAT

 DD/MM/YYY; Place

EXAMPLE

24/10/1765; Provence, France

vestition

The date and place (if known) of the individual’s vestition.

FORMAT

 DD/MM/YYY; Place

EXAMPLE

24/10/1765; Provence, France

ordination_deacon

The date and place (if known) of the individual’s ordination to the deaconate.

FORMAT

 DD/MM/YYY; Place

EXAMPLE

24/10/1765; Provence, France

ordination_priest

The date and place (if known) of the individual’s ordination to the priesthood.

FORMAT

 DD/MM/YYY; Place

EXAMPLE

24/10/1765; Provence, France

ordination_bishop

The date and place (if known) of the individual’s ordination as a bishop.

FORMAT

 DD/MM/YYY; Place

EXAMPLE

24/10/1765; Provence, France

ordination_archbishop

The date and place (if known) of the individual’s ordination as an archbishop.

FORMAT

 DD/MM/YYY; Place

EXAMPLE

24/10/1765; Provence, France

beatification

The date on which an individual was beatified.

FORMAT

 DD/MM/YYY

EXAMPLE

24/10/1765

canonization

The date on which an individual was canonized.

FORMAT

 DD/MM/YYY

EXAMPLE

24/10/1765

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

Recorded as a notable calligrapher.
Most likely died from cholera.

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]

Relationships

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

• PART_OF: This links Person, Institution, and Event nodes to Corporate Entity nodes.
• PRESENT_AT: This links Person nodes to Institution, General Area, or Event nodes.
• RELATED_TO: This links Person nodes to other Person nodes.
• INVOLVED_WITH: This links Person nodes to Publication nodes.

These four 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 capture the specific religious group that a person belonged to. 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 a person belonged. For Catholics and Orthodox, this usually indicate the specific order or province (e.g. Discalced Carmelites, Vice Province of China, etc.) to which a person belonged.

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 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

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, 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

EXAMPLE ENTRIES

MEC, Member (1905)
BeM, Evangelist (1920)
Independent, Evangelist (1932)

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;

RELATED_TO

This is used to connect People nodes to People nodes. Importantly, it means “related 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 person’s relationship to the other person
• 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 RELATED_TO RELATIONSHIPS

All people with recorded relationships will be entered into the database. As such, it is best to record the Identifying Static Properties of anyone who is recorded in a relationship. This methodical approach allows you to assign temporary ID numbers to individuals. These ID numbers can be used to help record relationships in a more timely manner. See Example Spreadsheet 2, for an example of this approach.

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

EXAMPLE HEADER FORMAT

Temporary ID of Person 1; Relationship Type; Temporary ID of Person 1; Start YYYY; End YYYY; Note

EXAMPLE ENTRIES

P023; Married to; P035; 1925; 1943; Spouse died of dysentery.
P024; Married to; P120; 1945
P024; Parent of; P234; 1927
P035; Parent of; P234; 1927
P024; Parent of; P256; 1948
P120; Parent of; P256; 1948
P024; Schoolmate of; P002; --; --; Studied Chinese together.

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