Shandong University (SDU) and Shandong Publishing Group jointly launched a new database project for ancient Chinese texts in Jinan, Shandong province, on Aug 27, during the 16th China International Digital Publishing Expo.

The project takes the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Branches of Literature), a major collection of Chinese texts compiled during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), as its core foundation.

According to Huang Fayou, Vice-President of SDU, the project will first replace more than 3,400 core works in the Siku Quanshu with earlier, authoritative extant editions. These texts will form a newly compiled collection featuring authoritative editions and clearly documented textual provenance.

The collection will be expanded gradually, prioritizing individual works based on their importance and edition quality, with the goal of ultimately including over 10,000 ancient Chinese texts. The database is designed to offer high-quality, advanced digital resources for researchers at home and overseas.

SDU professor Du Zexun serves as the academic lead of the project. His team will undertake tasks including edition selection and textual collation.

Built upon long-term cooperation between SDU and Shandong Publishing Group, the project aims to support the preservation, organization, and open accessibility of ancient Chinese texts for research through digital technologies.