The Study of Premodern Chinese Literature in the Digital Era: New Methods of Quantitative Statistics, Databases, and Visualization Analyses

Abstract

Abstract:In the digital age, the amount of data is exploding. Taking “quantitative analysis” as the leading idea, many emerging methods and tools represented by quantity statistics, new database construction, and visual analysis as well as the network platforms are also emerging. Various tools are being built around computer data processing technology and applied to the study of premodern Chinese literature. The application of such new methods, tools, and platforms, combined with the traditional methods of close reading of texts and the professional knowledge of scholars, is forming a research method covering a wider range of texts with more traceable results. However, there is still no summary of the functions of these new methods, tools, and platforms, and a discussion on how they can be further integrated with the characteristics of the study of premodern Chinese literature. Based on this absence, this paper, by sorting out relevant concepts and analyzing existing research results, summarizes and examines the role of such new methods, tools, and platforms from the aspects of constructing basic research materials, interpreting literary phenomena and specific literary works, and judging research trends and emphases. Then, it analyzes the significance of the new paradigm in the study of premodern Chinese literature in the digital age.