AsianDOC Electronic Newsletter 1:1(March 1998)

The International Dunhuang Project

[IDP logo]
Copyright © 1997, The British Library Board
British Library, Or 8210/S.11287

This character was found on a piece of paper stuck together with several other sheets to form a wrapper. The character represents the imperial command and is at the end of an edict to the Governor of the region, dated AD 711.

Objectives

To establish the full extent of the documentary legacy from Dunhuang and other Central Asian Sites and to share that information through the development of an international database.
To develop new techniques for the preservation of the original documents through close collaboration with research chemists and paper technologists.
To promote common standards of preservation methods and documentation.
To catalogue the material according to common or compatible standards.
To store the documents in the best possible environment and reduce handling to a minimum.
To stimulate research on the material and increase access through the production of surrogate forms, facsimile publication, microfiche, and computer stored images.

Organization

IDP consists of a small steering group and an active membership of all curators and conservators concerned with Dunhuang and related materials. It has wide links with those involved in computer development in related fields and with scientists. The project produces a newsletter and holds a regular conference (1993: Sussex, UK; 1996: Paris, France; 1998: Berlin, Germany).

The International Dunhuang Project Database

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Detail of a database screen showing Chinese manuscripts from Dunhuang

Why a Database?

The International Dunhuang Project, while not claiming to have solved all the problems associated with computerisation, is nevertheless a compelling example of how computer technology can be applied to make resources available in a manner previously unimaginable.
The manuscripts and printed documents from Chinese Central Asia are scattered in collections throughout the world. In particular, the 40,000 manuscripts from Cave 17 in Dunhuang are now largely housed in four major institutions -- the National Library of China, the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg-- with smaller holdings elsewhere. None of these institutions can offer full access to its collection for one or more of the following reasons: the poor condition of the manuscripts; the lack of a complete finding list, let alone a catalogue; and the policy of the institution. Although there are microfilms and other facsimile forms of many of the manuscripts these are still incomplete and often of poor quality. There is not an existing complete catalogue.
There is therefore a compelling argument for international co-operation to create a widely available computer catalogue of all the manuscripts with images. It is the only means to provide scholars with access to the entire collection. Using images means that the manuscripts can be studied both by scholars interested in the text and those interested in the object. Moreover, despite the massive input of resources needed to achieve this end, it will save each individual institution considerable work because of the exchange of ideas and the possibility of sharing techniques, especially in conservation and catalogue design. They can also combine their energies for fund-raising and the collaborative nature of the Project should increase the chances of success in this vital area. The Project will also make the manuscripts available for research to many more scholars whose work will contribute to the maintenance and updating of the database.

Database Design

The International Dunhuang Project database must serve three main purposes; it will replace the handlists, conservation records and other tools currently used by the institutions in question to look after the collections; it will replace the printed catalogues and microfilms as the primary source for scholars; but it will also go beyond this to become a scholarly tool.
The International Dunhuang Project decided to use an off-the-shelf relational database rather than a specially designed programme for reasons of start-up and maintenance costs and availability to users. The main considerations in choosing a product were power and flexibility, with the ability to use non-Roman scripts and incorporate images. 4th Dimension, a relational database designed in the late 1980s by ACI Ltd in Paris, was the clear choice. It should be added that the Project did not have the resources to employ specialist computer help and the database was designed by the Project staff with some assistance from ACI (UK) Ltd. who have sponsored the Project.

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Database Structure January 98
The database is now available for internal use by British Library staff. It will be launched on the Internet in August this year. Scholars worldwide will be able to access the key information with many appended images. Further details on the database are available at

For General Information

Dr Susan Whitfield
IDP
The British Library
Oriental and India Office Collections
197 Blackfriars Road
London SE1 8NG
United Kingdom

Tel.: +44 171 412 7647/7650.
Fax: +44 171 412 7641.

Email: oioc-idp@bl.uk

URL: http://www.bl.uk/collections/oriental/dunhuang.html

URL http://asiandoc.lib.ohio-state.edu/v1n1/dbs/Dunhuang.html

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