Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

Chinese texts using the computer and to process and analyse basic data. This saves scholars much time spent on searching for data, allowing them to focus on higher-level research. The project has to date set up databases for all ancient texts from the Pre-Qin period to the Northern and Southern dynasties, involving over 3 billion characters. I n 1994 the project was extended to include data on excavated ancient texts such as inscriptions on oracles, bamboo slips and silk. The operational and publishing activities of the database have f o l l owed the rapid development of information technology. The electronic media (including CD-ROMs) and webpages have been adopted to disseminate and record the fruits of researchers' labour : to date, 60 wo r d - by -wo r d indices and a computer indexing softwar e for 31 kinds of ancient texts have been produced; all data have been put online in stages since June 1999. To meet the research needs of scholars in the field, experts are currently developing a multi-functional online indexing system and a hyperlink browsing system on the Internet for data on ancient Chinese culture. Humanities Computing and Methodology Programme The ob j e c t i ve o f the Huma n i t i es Computing and Methodology Programme, set up under the auspices of the Research Institute for the Humanities, is to promote humanistic scholarship and learning through the experimentation and application of various information technology and computational techniques. Its work comprises the development of humanities-related Interne t resources. It began with the compilation of meta-indices of such resources worldwide and is now developing humanities webpages on its own, mainly on language and philosophy. Accomplishments over the years include an electronic dictionary (online version of L i n Yu-tang's Chinese English Dictionary), a phonetic syllabary (A Chinese Talking Syllabary of Cantonese), t op i c - specific lexicons (S.K. L a o ' s Lexicon of Confucianism), a n d scholarly editions of humanities classics ( K a n t ' s Critique of Pure Reason). Medicine Telemedicine The Chinese Un i ve r s i t y is the firs t institution in Hong Kong to use information technology to tackle medical subjects. The Clinical Sciences Building of its teaching hospital, the Prince of Wales Hospital, is the first and only hospital in the territory with every room linked up w i t h the rest by a broadband audio-visual network. Through this network, medical staff can transmit medical images and exchange information IT: The Name of the Game 1S