Digital Humanities Research

Analysis of the Digital Humanities Culture Analytics Field and Application Prospect of Large Language Models—Interview with Professor Matthew Wilkens

Matthew Wilkens Yang Xiaoyan

2023, 3(2): 3-14.

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Cultural analytics under the digital humanities is a research field where scholars combine quantitative analysis from mathematics,statistics,and social sciences with complex large-scale social and cultural datasets. The article is an interview with Dr. Matthew Wilkens of Cornell University,an active scholar in this field. It includes an introduction to the current situation of the field,his research experience,prospects,educational ideas,and more. Dr. Wilkens believes that the methods and technologies of digital humanistic culture analysis are transferable,but to avoid the impulse of generalization and generalization,the field still faces two major challenges: one technical and one conceptual.In particular,the idea that literary and historical problems such as cultural evolution cannot be solved by close reading and that the core of some quantitative research is still humanism is still difficult to accept. This difficulty of conceptual change will make digital humanities research within the humanities stagnate. At present,there are signs that the growth of digital humanities will occur in information science and other technical disciplines. At the same time,the rapidly developing large-scale generative models have great application potential in the field of cultural analytics. It will be an important trend for humanists to cooperate with developers of large-scale language models in the future.

Virtual Museums as An Extended Museum Experience:Challenges and Impacts for Museology,Digital Humanities,Museums and Visitors —in Times of (Coronavirus) Crisis

Bernadette Biedermann Trans. Gao Yan

2023, 3(2): 15-30.

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Since there has been a recent trend to establishing virtual museums,which various institutions have swiftly responded to,the objective of this paper is to understand the nature of virtual and / or digital museums by focusing on their particular characteristics. In this approach,the paper proceeds from the assumption that museum representations in the virtual space and / or virtual museums could extend conventional or physical museum space,leading to enhanced visitor attraction and experience. The paper thus focuses on the virtual museum as an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary object of investigation from the perspective of museology and digital humanities and seeks to ascertain whether scholarly and practical impacts are achieved. It also analyses the expected impacts on practical museum work and visitor needs,especially with respect to the tasks museums are required to fulfil in times of crisis.

Reflection on the Method of Gathering of Scattered Literature in the Digital Humanity Era

Tang Chen Zhang Ping

2023, 3(2): 31-38.

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Qian Gu(钱穀)’s Painting Album of the Great Canal Journeys(《纪行图册》)was based on Wang Shizhen(王世贞)’s Shi Jin Ji Xing(《适晋纪行》)in the fourth year of the Longqing reign (1570) in June and was painted into 32 scenes from Cangshan Xiaozhi Garden(仓山小祗园) to Yangzhou Yangzi Bridge( 扬州扬子桥). Zhang Fu(张复)’s Visual Travelogue of A Journey Through the Waterways(《水程图》)was drawn on the boat going north when Wang Shizhen entered the position of Taipu(太仆) in the second year of Wanli (1574) in February. He depicted 52 scenes from Shao Bo(邵伯)to Tongzhou(通州). Both works were done in a realistic style and are considered exceptional in the Ming dynasty’s painting history. This article uses the on-site study method to undertake three tasks. First,since Wang Shizhen’s trip to the north coincided with the Great Canal’s changing period during the completion of the Longqing Xinhe(隆庆新河)and the discussion of the Jiahe(泇河),this article intends to digitize all the waterways they passed through. Second,Qian Gu stated that he wanted to record the true landscape at that time,so this article uses travel diaries,local gazetteers,ancient and modern maps,and my own research results through the on-site study to explain each illustration and verify the degree of realism depicted by the painters. Third,the value of the more than 80 scenes is like discovering a large box of Ming dynasty videotapes. This article will reveal the true appearance of the Great Canal in the Ming dynasty in a visual and expressive manner through the true nature of the scenes.

The Digital Turn in Early Modern Japanese Studies

Zhou Ruiqi Guan Fanyi

2023, 3(2): 116-128.

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Hosted by the University of Cambridge, the international symposium “The Digital Turn in Early Modern Japanese Studies” was held online from December 2nd to 4th,2022. “Early Modern Japan” is one of the most rapidly advancing and fertile fields in Japanese digital humanities research at this stage,and this conference showcased the characteristics of current Japanese DH research to some extent. The application of digital technologies and tools, such as OCR technology,the IIIF framework,GIS systems,and high - magnification digital microscopes,has pushed forward research on many fundamental issues in early modern Japanese studies,including handwriting recognition and reading. Also,digital humanities research has made excellent achievements in art,literature,and print culture,further promoting the accessibility of resources and the revitalization of traditional disciplines. At the same time,challenges like unresolved technical issues and the adaptability of digital resources still existed,as well as issues regarding the research environment,concepts,and ethics. Last but not least,some research perspectives shown at the conference could inspire Chinese digital humanities research,such as the emphasis on constructing portal websites and awareness of serving a wider range of people.

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