Table 5 Rules for handling information on biographical events

Character

Missing information related to the character (e.g., place of origin, font size, etc.)

In this year, when Huiyuan was five years old, although Fan Xuan’s age at that time cannot be determined, he must have been an adult.

Based on the supplementary information from CBDB, if there is none, the relevant attribute information will be left blank.

Characters not directly related to the subject appear in the description of the event.

“Sun Suifang stated in his book: The situation of the Sun family after they entered Guangdong is more thoroughly and meticulously examined in Professor Luo Xianglin’s book ‘An Examination of the Origins of the National Father’s Family Affairs’(《国父家事源流考》)”

Distinguish between direct and indirect relationships in terms of personal relationships; indirect relationships are not established.

In this instance, Luo Xianglin and Sun Yat-sen do not establish a direct relationship.

Time

Missing time-related information

In the sixteenth year of King Cheng of Chu(楚), Duke Huan of Qi(齐桓公) led the vassal lords to invade Chu, reaching Zhaoling. The state of Chu sent Qu Wan(屈完) to negotiate an alliance, and the armies withdrew.

Trace the events in chronological order, identifying the nearest preceding or following events with clear time information.

For example, the cessation of hostilities by Duke Huan of Qi follows the “invasion of Chu” event.

The information about the time is vague, and it is impossible to get the exact time of the event.

In the second year of Zhenghe(征和) (91 BC) in spring, Emperor Che Liu(刘彻) of Han divided the prime minister’s office into two departments: left and right.

Use the period from vague temporal expressions as the possible time information for the event and note that it is inferred. For instance, the second year of Zhenghe in spring should be denoted as a period.

There is a difference in the way of describing the same event between ancient and modern times.

In the fourth year of Yongguang(永光) (40 BC) during summer, on the day of Jiaxu(甲戌) in the sixth month, a fire broke out at the east watchtower of Emperor Xuan’s temple(宣帝庙). Four days later, on the last day of the month (Wuyin(戊寅)), a solar eclipse occurred.

Convert the time based on an ancient-to-modern timeline to unify it on the same scale.

Unify the chronological years, reign years, and Common Era (CE) years.

Location

Location-related information is missing

After Gaozu(高祖) pacified Chang’an(长安), he acquired old objects from Heng.

By default, use the location of the preceding event.

For example, the location of the old instruments in the case is identified as Chang’an.

The location information is vague, and it is impossible to get the event’s exact location.

When Cao Cao(曹操) withdrew his troops from Liucheng, he did not return by the original route but instead took the southern route, moving toward the southwest.

Use the approximate area of a vague location as the possible event location and note accordingly.

In this case, “southwest of Liucheng” is a vague location, so the specific cities in the southwest of Liucheng are considered possible ranges.

Differences in naming styles between ancient and modern locations within the same event.

His original surname was Chen(陈), and his ancestral home was Yingchuan(颍川) (present-day Xuchang, Henan Province).

Translate the location into a standardized name according to the “Ancient and Modern Place Names Comparison Table.”(《古今地名对照表》)

This case constructs the mapping between Yingchuan and Xuchang, converting as needed.

Event

Multiple times in the event

For example, Ruan Ji (210–263) of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove(竹林七贤).

Split it into two events.

For example, the case should be split into a birth event and a death event.

Multiple consecutive locations within the same event, are difficult to disentangle.

In the third year of Yuanhe(元和), Chong(充) moved his family, was summoned to Yangzhou, governed Danyang, Jiujiang, and Lujiang, and later entered to become Zhizhong.

An event mapping to multiple location elements.

The event in the case includes multiple locations that Wang Chong passed through.

Official Position

Official information is partially omitted.

However, Huang Degong(黄得功) stationed troops in Chu (滁)and He(和), stationed in Luzhou(庐州); Liu Zeqing(刘泽清) stationed in Huaiyang(淮阳); Gao Jie(高杰) stationed in Xusu(徐泗); Liu Liangzuo(刘良佐) stationed in Fengshou(凤寿).

Complete based on the context, if undetermined, leave blank.

Commentary

Commentary information is missing from documentary sources

He did not agree with Han Yu’s(韩愈) evaluation of Xunzi as being “largely good with minor flaws.”(大醇而小疵)

Complete based on external information, if undetermined, leave blank.