ABSTRACT
To preserve ancient Chinese scientific and technological documents, utilise historical resources, and support research in the history of Chinese science and technology, this chapter constructs and studies the Ancient Chinese Scientific and Technological Documents Database (ACSTDD). The database contains ancient documents from various scientific and technological fields, including astronomy, geography, agriculture, hydraulics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine before 1912 ce (excluding 1912 ce). It provides features, such as classification browsing and combination search. The system also provides tools to assist academic research. Based on ACSTDD, this chapter carries out the knowledge mining practice of bibliographic summaries of ancient scientific and technological documents. This chapter uses sericulture, cotton, and mulberry agricultural documents in the Qing dynasty as examples to achieve knowledge reorganisation and visual presentation related to authors, content, and geographical distribution. This chapter fills the gap and addresses the issue of the insufficient organisation of ancient Chinese scientific and technological documents. The systematic organisation of these scattered historical resources through ACSTDD enables large-scale comparative studies that were previously impossible due to the fragmented nature of ancient Chinese scientific and technological documents, opening new avenues for interdisciplinary research in the history of science and technology.
