This project aims to establish a new concept of “digital edition” and develop it with a series of example texts. This digital edition is not a static product, like the digital texts found in current databases. It is an “object” with a set of methods attached to it, helping the user to organize it and explore it in different ways. The key issue engaged by this process-oriented digital edition is how to treat literary or historical sources as “data”, data that must be extracted, organized, juxtaposed with other data, and interpreted. Exploration of different kinds of visualization is a primary interest, using visualizations that are dynamic and interactive. The goal is to provide methods and examples of a “beyond reading” approach to early medieval China, one that will complement our ordinary reading practice.