What is this site for?
To put Chinese civilisation into English properly: the classical texts, the concepts they argue with, the characters they were written in, and the practice that still surrounds them in Taiwan — each with the original beside the translation, and each traceable to where it comes from.
How do I know an entry has actually been checked?
Every published entry carries a verdict and the small 真 seal at its foot. An entry with no verdict recorded against it is not published at all — not as a draft, not as a stub — so “not yet read” and “read and confirmed” can never be mistaken for one another. Where the sources do not settle a question, the entry says Unverified rather than guessing. The full process is on the methodology page.
Why do some entries say “Unverified”?
Because I could not find a primary source either way. That is an honest answer, and it is more useful than a guess dressed up as a finding.
Can I reuse the verdicts and translations?
Yes. The quote database and the verdicts are published under CC BY 4.0 — reuse them, including commercially, with attribution to Vermilion Seal. See open data.
Do you check tattoo designs?
Not as a private service. The character library gives the correct form, the meaning, and the specific error people make with that character — which is the same information I would give you, for free and permanently.
Are you a Daoist priest or a master?
No. I trained for a period as a lay student at a Daoist temple in Taiwan, and I say so plainly rather than letting it be read as more than it was. I read the sources; I do not transmit a lineage.
Which translation of the Analects or the Tao Te Ching should I buy?
Guides comparing the standard translations are being written. Until they are published, the short answer: read two, and prefer editions that show you the original text.
