China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) Frequently Asked Questions

China National Knowledge Infrastructure

Frequently asked questions

1. What is CNKI?
2. Who developed CNKI?
3. Is there a list of journals available in CNKI?
4. What is China Academic Journals (CAJ)?
5. What is China Core Newspapers (CCND)?
6. What is China Doctor/Master’s Dissertations (CDMD)?
7. What is the China Proceedings of Conferences (CPCD)?
8. I have installed the CAJ Viewer but it does not display the Chinese text properly.
9. Do you have to know Chinese to use CNKI databases?
10. Which language/script should I use to type a search query?
11. Can I search in Chinese when I am using the English language interface?
12. Some articles are displayed with strange characters in the CAJ viewer. What can I do to correct it?
13. What should I do if the pages are illegible?
14. Who do I contact to find out more?
15. How can I get access?

1. What is CNKI? China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) is an electronic platform created to integrate significant Chinese knowledge-based information resources. As a result, CNKI is the most authoritative, comprehensive, and largest source of China-based information resources in the world, reflecting the latest developments in Chinese politics, economics, humanity and social science, science and technology.
2. Who developed CNKI? The Beijing-based Tongfang Knowledge Network (TKN), an information technology company founded by Tsinghua University, is the sole developer and owner of the CNKI databases. TKN takes the lead in constructing and developing the network of information collection, integration, spread and utilization in China.
3. Is there a list of journals available in CNKI? See our title lists page here for more information.
4. What is China Academic Journals (CAJ)? The largest of CNKI databases, the CAJ database offers full-text and full-image access to over 56 million articles from over 10,000 academic journals published in China since 1994 on physical sciences and engineering, humanities and social sciences, medicine, and agriculture. The archive is growing, due to retrospective conversion of most titles back to their first issue. You may have access to one or more series depending on your institution’s subscription. Through the Century Journals Project, your institution may have access to additional materials dating back to 1915 through the CAJ platform.
5. What is China Core Newspapers (CCND)? The newspaper database, known as CCND, covers subscription-based access to more than 650 newspapers from every province and region of China. While its archive dates from 2000, it already has more than 19 million articles, with about 800,000 news items added annually. With the dynamic changes affecting all aspects of life in modern China, this database is destined to become a unique and essential resource for almost anyone interested in this part of the world.
6. What is China Doctor/Master’s Dissertations (CDMD)? CDMD is a collection of over 4.4 million master’s and doctoral dissertations for degrees from hundreds of universities and academies in China. Dissertations are available from the year 1984 to the present.
7. What is China Proceedings of Conferences (CPCD)? CPCD offers access to more than 2.5 million papers from over 20,000 conference proceedings published since 1953 by thousands of academic associations and societies in China. As proceedings better reflect the latest advancements in science and technology, it is an ideal choice to keep up-to-date on the trends.
8. What is a “CAJ Viewer”? I’ve downloaded it, but do I need it? There are two ways to download full-text articles with CNKI: “download PDF” or “download CAJ”. You may choose either method.
   • “download PDF” means viewing with Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you already have Acrobat Reader on your computer, take a look at an article to check if you need to download another version of this program. If you are not able to open the article, or fonts are garbled, download the Acrobat Reader program. Chinese Simplified font packs may be found here.
   • “download CAJ” means viewing with CAJViewer. This is proprietary software from TKN that allows you to view the full-text article. It acts similar to Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the zip file to access the software. If you still experience difficulties viewing articles with the CAJViewer, check whether there is a Chinese font library on your computer. Click “option” in the CAJ Viewer Menu and select “Default Font”. In the Font screen, please select “MS Hei” or “MS Song”, and click “OK”.If you do not see these fonts, you should install a Chinese font library on your computer. If you also want to input Chinese characters, you should install a Chinese tool.
9. Do you have to know Chinese to use CNKI databases? Most of CNKI’s databases have an English language interface. In addition, hundreds of titles are published in English, and many more publications are fully bilingual or contain substantial English content and/or abstracts and indexes in English.
10. Which language/script should I use to type a search query? To get the best results, search queries should be entered in Simplified Chinese. A query in English will return results, but they should not be considered comprehensive. Queries in Pinyin also should not be considered comprehensive.
11. Can I search in Chinese when I am using the English language interface? Yes, you can. Many CNKI databases have search interfaces in three language/scripts (English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese). The search interface is independent of the search query. You can input queries in Simplified Chinese when the interface is in English.
12. Some articles are displayed with strange characters in the CAJ viewer. What can I do to correct it? For Windows 2000 users, follow these instructions: in the CAJ viewer go to Menu “Option”, choose “Select Default Font”. Then, select “SimSun” in the Font window. Select “CHINESE_GB2312” for the Script setting in the right bottom box. Click OK button.Chinese characters should be displayed correctly now.
13. What should I do if the pages are illegible? Go to “View” in Menu and select Chinese Simplified (GB2312) or Chinese Simplified(HZ) in Font. If these are not available, you will need to add the Chinese font library into the Fonts in Control Panel of your computer.
14. Who do I contact to find out more? In North America and Europe, contact:
    East View Information Services, Inc.
    10601 Wayzata Boulevard.
    Minneapolis, MN 55305 USA
    Tel.: (952) 252-1201
    Fax: (952) 252-1202
    US Toll-free: (800) 477-1005
    [email protected]
15. How can I get access? There is a free trial period available to help you familiarize yourself with the databases and learn its features. We can program campus-wide trials according to Internet Protocol addresses. Please contact our customer service or send an email to [email protected] for a free trial.