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Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Digital History Année : 2024

Eminent Chinese of the Shenbao (1872-1891). A digital investigation of news reporting and newspaper-making in late imperial China

Christian Henriot

Résumé

Newspapers have long played a crucial role in historical research, especially in the field of Chinese history. Access to archives in China has historically been challenging, making newspapers like the Shanghai-based Shenbao an essential alternative resource. The conditions of accessing Chinese newspapers have undergone profound changes in the past four decades, significantly impacting research practices. Advancements in technology have led to increased accessibility to newspapers in various formats. Chronologically, the original print version of the Shenbao transitioned into microfilm (1969), reprints (1987), scanned images (2008), and finally, a full-text digital format (2010). 1 However, the release of the full-text digital version only marginally improved research due to substantial limitations imposed by the primary providers in mainland China. Online queries yield numerous results, but each must be examined individually. Furthermore, the ability to copy or download only a small portion of selected articles hinders research efforts. Additionally, attempts to employ web scraping or implement Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools are met with immediate blocking by robots. In essence, Chinese full-text newspapers offered by mainland companies do not fully exploit the potential of NLP methodologies, as successfully demonstrated in historical newspaper research in the United States and Europe. 2 In the ENP-China project, we identified a Taiwan-based company willing to provide us with the XML text files of the Shenbao. This collaboration allowed us to extensively implement NLP methodologies for historical research.
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Dates et versions

hal-04285636 , version 1 (14-11-2023)

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Paternité - Pas d'utilisation commerciale

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  • HAL Id : hal-04285636 , version 1

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Christian Henriot. Eminent Chinese of the Shenbao (1872-1891). A digital investigation of news reporting and newspaper-making in late imperial China. Journal of Digital History, In press. ⟨hal-04285636⟩
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