A Brief Introduction to Using the CDEAL GIS.
The following instructions are presented as a very brief set-up and walk through for using the CDEAL GIS on your own computer. I will add detailed text and video tutorials sometime in September, 2011. These instructions are probably easier to understand after reading my IJHA article.
Step 1. Get access to the CDEAL GIS. You can request access to the files here. After receiving the link, unzip the files to a location on your computer
Step 2. Install Chinese character support. I use NJ Star. It is one of the few program which supports the display of Chinese characters within ESRI products without any special set-up.
Step 3. Install ESRI's ArcReader 10. Its free and available here. At this time, ArcReader and ESRI products in general are not supported on Mac OS. You may be able to run the program using Parallels.
Step 4. Identify an emigrant area location. Choose a location in China based on overseas information (e.g., gravestone, historical documents). This can be a city or other administrative unit.
Step 5. Locate the home area or village in the CDEAL GIS. Open the CDEAL GIS (double-click on the file named CDEAL GIS.pmf). Select the "Find" tool (Ctrl+F on Windows), which is symbolized by a small pair of binoculars. Once the "Find" dialogue window is open, type your location in the field labeled "Find" and select the either the "1820 Towns" or "1911 Towns" data layer. You can type your search term in either English or Chinese characters. [Note: Make sure the layer you choose - "1820 Town" or "1911 Towns" - is activated by clicking the check box next to the layers name in the table of contents, on the left side of the ArcReader window.] This step can be repeated for any other layer, in case you only have information for a county or other administrative level.
Step 6. Explore information for the emigrant area. Once you've found the location in China corresponding to the overseas information, you can begin exploring a variety of data for that location. There are two main types of information. The first provides general ethnolinguisitic information. This is represented in the CDEAL GIS by the layer named "LAoC_Polys" in the table of contents [Hint: look under the entry labeled "Lang Atlas of China"]. Once you have your location highlighted using the "Find" tool, you can activate the "LAoC_Polys" layer (click the box next to it); then, click the "Identify" tool symbolized by the letter "i" inside a blue circle. Once this tool is activated, click within the polygons which appeared after activating the "LAoC_Polys" layer and the resulting pop-up window will contain information about the ethnolinguistic division your chosen location falls within. The second type of information comes from the "ChinaW_points_gbk" layer. Turn this layer on by checking the box next to it and locate the nearest features within this layer to your chosen location. Once you've identified the nearest feature, use the "Identify" tool to access the attributes. The resulting pop-up window will provide a few dozen entries. Use the data dictionary developed by Yue et al (2007) to interpret these values. A PDF of the data dictionary is included in the zipped version of the CDEAL GIS.
Step 7. Print a map of your location. Use the "Zoom In", "Zoom Out", and "Pan" tools to center the on your chosen location (these tools are symbolized by a magnifying glass with a plus sign, a magnifying glass with a minus sign, or a gloved hand respectively). The scale bar will update automatically. You can also explore turning other layers on and off (check or uncheck the box next to their name) in order to better contextualize your map. Once you have created a map you're happy with, click the "File" drop-down menu and select either "Print" or "Export".
That's a brief introduction to the general use of the CDEAL GIS. Check back soon for updates.
