📨 Recently, we have received many questions from readers regarding CBETA e-books.
We have compiled a list of FAQs and charts to help you quickly get to know our e-books:
Q: Is the content the same across different e-book formats?
📚 The content of e-books in different formats varies slightly. Please refer to the chart (in Chinese) below to understand the features and content differences of each format.
⚠️ Note: The information in the table is based on the 2025 R3 data; future updates may result in further changes.
CBETA E-Books: Format Comparison
| Format | Contains Taisho Tripitaka (T1–T55, T85)? | Contains Manji Zokuzokyo (Xuzangjing)? | Contains Other Texts? | Contains CBETA Collation Notes? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOCX | ✔️ | ❌ (Pending) | ❌ (Pending) | ✔️ |
| TXT | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ (Optional) |
| EPUB | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ |
| ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ | |
| MOBI | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ |
CBETA E-Books: Format Features & Usage
| Format | Feature & Usage |
|---|---|
| DOCX | Open for editing and annotation. Best suited for academic research and citation. |
| TXT | Complete plain-text dataset. Ideal for software development/programming, full-text searches, and corpus analysis. |
| EPUB | Complete set of texts. Optimized for reading on computers, tablets, and smart phone-friendly, though some may experience table of contents (TOC) compatibility issues. |
| Fixed layout. Best suited for reference lookup and printing. | |
| MOBI | Specifically formatted for Kindle users. |
Q: Does the DOCX format include the complete Taisho Tripitaka?
📜 Currently, the CBETA DOCX e-books include Volumes 1 to 55 and Volume 85 of the Taisho Tripitaka, as authorized by Daizo Shuppan. The DOCX format conversion process is ongoing, and more texts beyond the Taisho Tripitaka will be provided in the future.
In addition to completing the format conversion for the aforementioned authorized content of the Taisho Tripitaka, the team is also dedicated to improving the rendering of Siddham characters, aiming to provide everyone with clearer and more aesthetically pleasing DOCX e-books.
Q: What should I do if I encounter issues opening DOCX files with different versions of Word?
📔 Previously, a reader suggested adding the ODT format to avoid Word version compatibility issues. We have requested Brother Huang Xunqing, who assists with file conversions, to conduct a feasibility assessment and testing. We look forward to providing a better user experience in the next update.
We welcome everyone to make good use of CBETA e-books and unleash the power of a tiger with horns! (Roar~~) 🔱🐯
