宗 教 詞 彙

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You can search for both English and Chinese terms, using characters or pinyin transcription. When using pinyin you can write syllables together or separate, e.g. yuanshi zongjiao or yuan shi zong jiao (but NOT hyphenated, like yuan-shi zong-jiao). 

• • Do not use quotation marks (“…”), do not search for combinations of terms with AND.
  • Suggested terms will appear while you are writing.
  • If there is more than one result for a search term, a drop-down menu will list further results which you can pick and view separately.
  • The “View more” button at the bottom of the drop-down menu loads a complete list of items that match the search term.
  • Entries with “All” at the end of the phrase refer to the concepts for which several Chinese translations and/or definitions are available in this database, e.g. “animism (All).”
  • In presenting English translations of Chinese terms, we mark our own translations with asterisk*, while translations we found in dictionaries and monographs are unmarked.

Structure of the entries

Each term entry includes in the first box pinyin transcription, the Chinese characters, and an English translation as basic information. A second box provides information on one or more examples of works where the term has been used (short reference with source and publication date with page number(s), the full list of sources is found under the tab “Sources”).

Many entries also include the original Chinese sentence to shed light on the usage context and additional ideological or rhetorical connotations of the term in the example. In cases where the sentences are translated into English, the name of the translator is indicated as well. In cases of translations the original sentence will be provided.

In a third box possible semantic relations of the term are suggested: such as its hypernyms, hyponyms, synonyms, and antonyms.

Finally, in a last section called “Historical data” the instances used in the entries are visualized in a chronological graph (timeline). Please be aware that the instances are necessarily incomplete and the timeline can only indicate occurrences very selectively.

For entries with a list of translations for a term (“… (All)”) these different translations are indicated in the timeline.

Registration

If you want to use the database more systematically and to save terms we recommend you to register first with your email address and a password.

Print and save terms

The database is designed as an online dictionary that can be used by anyone interested in or conducting research in the field of Chinese religions. When browsing the database, you can print single entries. You can also save any terms that may be of interest using the button “Save for later” and print the selected terms as a list. To retrieve your saved term entries, go to the “Profile” icon in the top right corner. You can also select items in the list and rearrange the order of the selected entries before printing the list.

In order to use this function, you need to register before saving terms.

Sources (bibliography)

The tab “Sources” includes a list of complete bibliographical information of sources that have been dealt with in the database so far. When new entries are added the source list will also be amended. Normally we try to use the earliest version or edition of a work, in any case the edition or version that has been used is indicated in the list as well as in the entries.

You can filter the list in order to see only dictionaries, monographs and translations, or articles from periodicals or return to “view all”

Publications

This category lists publications of the project "Changing Concepts of Religion from Traditional to Modern Chinese, 1890-1949" funded by the DFG that are relevant to the database and the whole project.

Links

In this tab you find links to similar database or projects.

Forum / Discussion

The forum function is an additional tool for advanced and collaborating researchers who work in the field. You need to register and log in to write a commentary on an entry or to participate in discussions. Please register with us to obtain access to these options. Commentaries and questions written by registered users will be made visible only once they have been approved by the administrators.