Chang’an: A Deep Map

As a Data Fellow, Xin Wen will begin work on a “deep mapping” project on Chang’an, the largest city in the world for much of the first millennium CE. He will start by creating datasets based on two historical geographies of the city—one from the eighth century and one from the eleventh century—that shed light on the locations of residential areas, religious buildings, and more. Wen will use this information to build a layered map that shows how the city changed over time, bringing together information that has to this point been considered by scholars working in different disciplines and/or in different time periods. After the fellowship, Wen plans to incorporate additional data to make the map more complete. Ultimately, Wen hopes to make the map available online for research and teaching purposes, including his book-in-progress Chang’an: The Death and Rebirth of China’s Eternal Capital 900–1400, and his graduate seminar “Chang’an: China’s Medieval Metropolis,” respectively.