1.NAME OF CD-ROM DATABASESiku quanshu dianzi ban - Electronic Version of Siku Quanshu
2.DATE OF 1st ISSUE 1998-2000
3.ISSUEING AGENCYDigital Heritage Publishing + Hong Kong Chinese University Press
4. DISTRIBUTION Check out this website for details
6.TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTSIBM compatible PC with Windows 95/98 or NT 4 or higher
7.NETWORKABLEyes, with CD-ROM server
8.CODING OF CHARACTERSUniCode (ISO 10646) with fulltext version; otherwise not applicable (text scanned as image)
9. NUMBER OF CDs Image version: 165 CD; Combined image/fulltext version: aroung 178 CD
10.PRICE Image version: around 3.290 USD if order pre-paid until March 1999; for fulltext version: 9390 USD if order prepaid until March 1999; after that date fulltext version costs 11.050 USD, and image version 3.900 USD; My suggestion: if your institution can afford it, buy the fulltext version.
11.SHORT DESCRIPTIONContaining 3492 individual works and divided into four categories, the Siku quanshu represents a massive heritage of Chinese thought and culture. This electronic edition, in addition to having scanned images of the Wenyuan Ge edition which is usually in use and available to scholars today, also will provide fulltext format! This means that each single character/item/name etc. can be searched throughout the whole corpus of texts. However, no information on textual markup (which would be extraordinarily helpful!) is supplied in the handouts (one doubts if textual markup will indeed be implemented). This is the second of THREE Siku quanshu undertakings making that body of literature and writing available in digital format. The third option is currently (July 1998) in its planning stage at the Academia Sinica, Taiwan.