3 Queries

MCBD offers multiple ways to search biographical data. The first level is the pre-defined facet search in “Search the database” [can we change it to “Search MCBD?”]. A query can be launched in any of the search fields at the same time as if it were a Boolean “AND” search.

The initial list of searchable fields includes:

• FullName:
  • for Chinese or Japanese names, enter the full name without any separator: 蔣介石; 歐陽山
  • for names in Latin characters, enter the following: Surname, Given name (Smith, John; Crow, Carl)
• Surname: surname in Latin characters, including pinyin
• Surname – Vernacular: surname in Chinese or Japanese characters
• Given name(s): given name in Latin characters, including pinyin
• Given name(s) – Vernacular: given name in Chinese or Japanese characters
• Institution Name (English): name of the institution in Latin characters
• Institution Name (Vernacular): the institution in Chinese or Japanese characters
• Observations: any term or sequence of terms in any language
• Source: any term or sequence of terms in any language

Advanced search queries require a basic knowledge of the structure of the database. For an overview of the advanced search functions, please refer to the Heurist “Search filter” page. The MCBD User manual provides a detailed presentation of the structure, tables, and fields of the database.

3.1 Chinese characters

The online database distinguishes between simplified and traditional Chinese characters and only uses the latter. Using simplified characters in the search will not yield correct results.