ReadZen: An Open Working Environment for the Digital Study of Classical Chinese Zen Texts?

Referent

Fabian Trunz (Software Developer/Independent Scholar, Bern)

Datum und Zeit

1. Oktober 2026, 14:15 - 15:45

Ort

Gloriastrasse 12b, 8006 Zürich, Raum GLT-A-03

Inhalt 

ReadZen is an open-source working environment for reading, searching, translating, citing, and researching a large corpus of premodern Chinese texts. It combines a broad CBETA layer (approx. 5,000 texts) with a curated OpenZen edition layer that traces individual passages back to their underlying textual witnesses and scans. After a brief introduction, participants can try out the freely accessible web version themselves (full-text search, parallel reading, passage-level references, dictionary, lineage graph); the more comprehensive desktop environment will be demonstrated. Finally, I will consider where such an environment can facilitate philological work and where its limitations lie.

Organisation: Asien-Orient-Institut - Sinologie