Research on the construction of the semantic model for Chinese ancient architectures based on architectural narratives

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to reorganize the relevant information of Chinese ancient architectures with the use of Semantic Web technologies and thus facilitate its deep discovery and usage. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes an ontology model for Chinese ancient architectures based on architectural narratives theory. To verify the availability of the ancient architecture ontology, we designed and implemented three experiments, including semantic retrieval based on SPARQL query, semantic reasoning with the use of Jena reasoner and visual analysis based on the Chinese Online Digital Humanities Resources Platform. Findings The proposed ontology provided a solution for the semantic annotation of the unstructured information of Chinese ancient architectures. On this basis, deep knowledge services such as semantic retrieval, semantic reasoning and visual analysis can be provided. Practical implications The proposed semantic model of ancient architectures can effectively improve the organization and access quality of the semantic content of Chinese ancient architectures. Originality/value This paper focuses on the semantic modelling for the unstructured information of Chinese ancient architectures to semantically describe the related entities (e.g. persons, events, places and times) and uncover their relationships, and thus it made contribution to the deep semantic annotations on ancient architectures.