Chinese gazetteers are local histories that contain information about a site or a region. Gazetteers generally collect previous works concerning a place, often in a variety of genres (essays, poems, inscriptions, biographies, etc.). They are typically difficult to use even for native readers. Even locating the relative texts can prove challenging. This workshop will introduce participants to work with two large collections of Buddhist temple gazetteers published in Taiwan and China over the last 30 years. In the morning, we will look at traditional editions, catalogues as well as modern databases and platforms and demonstrate the use of the Digital Archive of Chinese Buddhist Temple Gazetteers. In the afternoon session, we will focus on the gazetteer series of Mt. Putuo, a site associated with the Bodhisattava Guanyin, and practice the use of diachronic gazetteer series for historical research.

Attendance is free and open to the public. A reading knowledge of Chinese is desirable. Seating is limited. RSVP to mmh47@pitt.edu by Wednesday, November 7.