About ChiPoT – Chinese Poetry Translated
A Bibliography
ChiPoT (Chinese Poetry Translated) is a freely accessible relational database designed to provide bibliographic data for translations and adaptions of Chinese poems of all eras, which are otherwise often scattered and difficult to find. The project, which remains a hobby, was born out of years of working with Chinese poetry and the intrinsically motivated conviction to create a meaningful tool for ourselves and others. Behind it are the sinologists Kerstin Storm (content) and Tilman Schalmey (IT). We furthermore greatly rely on the ongoing support, advice and collaboration of translator of Chinese poetry Volker Klöpsch.
Our gratitude for their continuous support goes to: Reinhard Emmerich, Gu Zhengxiang 顧正祥, and the Institute of Sinology and East Asian Studies at the University of Münster. For their ongoing work on the database we thank Luis Bock, Piet Kortenjan, and Ronja Abbenhaus.
The database was launched in November 2023 with around 950 Chinese poems from the Chinese imperial period and beyond as well as related references to mainly German-language translations. As of April 16, 2025, it contains a total of 3434 translations by 94 translators for 1727 poems. Wherever possible (see below notes on copyright and use), full texts are included. The database is set to grow steadily – in terms of poems, translations, and target languages.
The use of the database should be self-explanatory. Yet, if questions come up, do not hesitate to contact kerstinstorm [ at ] uni-muenster [ dot ] de.
One word on transcriptions: We use Hanyu pinyin to transcribe poem's titles and we decided to write all syllables separately and in lowercase letters because we – and especially our student assistants – do not necessarily recognise every name, place, or official title. When using the database, this may lead to inconveniences which we ask to excuse.
Collaboration – We need your help filling the database!
If you would like to join our efforts, please contact Kerstin Storm: kerstinstorm [ at ] uni-muenster [ dot ] de. If you are interested in using our raw data, please contact Tilman Schalmey, chipot [ at ] schalmey [ dot ] de.
Navigate the Unknown!