Since 2005, the Centre has spared no effort in pursuing the study of Chinese lexicon and was granted General Research Fund by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Government to conduct the First and Second Phases of An Integrated Study of the Pre-Han and Han Lexicon. This project aims at carrying out a comprehensive study of Pre-Han and Han lexicon. The objectives of this study are: i) to provide empirical data regarding the development of Pre-Han and Han lexicon; ii) to compile Glossary of New Vocabulary Found in Pre-Han and Han Ancient Chinese Texts as well as specialized dictionaries; and iii) to compile an online diachronic dictionary for public access. It is hoped that scholars can utilize the research outcomes to study the particularity of word usage, for instance, the special use of words by a particular author, in a particular work, in a particular region/state, in a particular period, and in a particular genre. This project can also provide empirical data regarding the development of pre-Han and Han lexicon and as a result of that broaden the current field of ancient Chinese lexicon study.

1. The Database contains about 150,000 characters/phrases, covering the most frequently used words and phrases found in transmitted ancient Chinese texts.
2. To explain the meanings of the characters/phrases collected, and provide their pronunciations.
3. The information is instrumental in furthering research on disciplines as wide-ranging as from ancient Chinese dialects to the excavated text lexicon.