A spatial-temporal framework for historical and cultural research on China

When conducting studies related to Chinese history and culture, researchers are oftentimes challenged by the complexities of historical Chinese geographic names and traditional Chinese calendars. Furthermore, it is difficult to integrate related social research without the input of complete and contiguous background information. To solve these problems, this article proposes a spatial-temporal framework for conducting historical and cultural research on China. First, conversion methods between the various traditional Chinese calendars were illustrated. Next, spatial-temporal data models for historical geographic names were designed and described according to the properties of the representative data sources. Based on these models, the spatial-temporal framework was further built using data collection and processing. With the help of this proposed infrastructure, researchers may more readily explore spatial-temporal information as well as conduct further historical and cultural research on China. Finally, a project entitled 'Sino-FamilyTree-GIS' was employed as a case study to demonstrate the value of this framework. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.