Basic tools for Chinese Buddhist Studies
Dates converter
In a Chinese source, a date would usually be indicated by the reign period of an emperor, followed by a combination of two cyclical signs or a number, and then the month and day of the lunar calendar. You can use this tool to convert the Chinese date into the date of the Western (Grigorian) calender.
Example: 乾隆辛丑五月八日 → 28 July 1781
Persons
The database provides information on names, dates of life and obtaining examination degrees, and career path of individuals.
This is approximately how to cite in a list of references:
Zhongyang yanjiuyuan Lishi yuyan yanjiusuo 中央研究院歷史語言研究所, comp. Renwu chuanji ziliao ku 人物傳記資料庫 [Database of Biographical Information]. Accessed October 20, 2023. https://newarchive.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/sncaccgi/sncacFtp?@@1974859525
China Biographical Database Project (CBDB)
You can download the whole database from the official website.
This is approximately how to cite in a list of references:
Harvard University, Academia Sinica, and Peking University, China Biographical Database (August 2021), https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/cbdb.
Buddhist persons (mostly monks but also laypeople):
Buddhist Studies Person Authority Databases
Place names
China Historical Geographic Information System (CHGIS)
The database has an online interface and can also be downloaded from the official website.
Primary sources (with e-text)
Chinese Buddhist canon (only Taishō)
Chinese Buddhist canon with various additional materials
Digital Archive of Chinese Buddhist Temple Gazetteers