Week6 -- My Wikipedia Edits -- CUI ZAN

1)summary

This week, I focused on improving the Wikipedia article about the Xibe people. Most of my work was on expanding the sections about their cultural practices, especially marriage customs, funeral rituals, and other traditional ceremonies. I also worked on polishing some of the existing sentences to make the explanations clearer. As I was adding new content, I made sure to include proper references, so that readers can trace the information if they want to learn more. While editing, I felt that it’s not just about adding text—it’s about making sure that the culture of the Xibe people is accurately represented and easier for people to understand. Since this is a topic that might not be familiar to many, I think having reliable references is especially important.(link)

2) Interesting points

Before doing this edit, I honestly didn’t know much about the customs of the Xibe people. As someone from the Han majority, I’ve always known that China has 56 ethnic groups, but to be honest, I’ve never really paid attention to the details of how other groups live or celebrate their traditions. While I was researching their wedding and funeral customs, I came across a lot of things I hadn’t expected. Some of their traditions are closely tied to their migration history, which gave me a better understanding of how history shapes culture. It also made me realize that even though the information is available, it’s not always something we actively seek out. Editing this article felt meaningful because it gave me the chance to explore a part of Chinese culture that I don’t normally come across, and it made me appreciate the diversity within our own country a lot more.

3) Question

As I was editing, I couldn’t help but wonder about something. Even though the information about Xibe customs is available, when you really sit down to write about it, you start to realize that not everything is straightforward. Some sources go into great detail, while others barely scratch the surface, and it's hard to tell which ones are really solid enough for Wikipedia. Especially with cultural topics, it feels tricky to judge—like, how do we know if a source is giving us a full picture, or just a very limited view? I found myself double-checking a lot, but I still wasn’t always confident.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to the blog

This blog is a digital forum where students from Collective Intelligence in Practice: Understanding Wikipedia at the Hanyang University in Korea (2025) will discuss their weekly readings and activities. Each week you are expected to post a blog post on our blog and make a comment on another student's post. You can do so on one of the following three topics: a) You can blog about the readings for the next week. As you are expected to do the assigned readings FOR the lectures they are assigned to, you are expected to post your blog and comments BEFORE that lecture. An ideal commentary should be about half a page in length (~200 words), divided into three clearly labeled sections in which you: 1) summarize in your own words of materials you read; 2) mention any new, interesting, or unusual items learned; 3) identify at least one question, concern, or discussion angle that is either problematic in some respect or could have been elaborated more. This question is likely to be incor...
Read more

Week 1. My Recent Wikipedia Edits - Jeong seolah (정설아)

I made several edits to the Wikipedia page for 'Daegu'.  Daegu, located in the southeastern part of South Korea, is the third-largest urban area in the country, following Seoul and Busan. With a population exceeding 2.3 million, it is the fourth-largest metropolitan city in South Korea and the second-largest in the Yeongnam region after Busan. Often referred to together with the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province as Daegu-Gyeongbuk, this region is home to over 5 million residents. Known for its rich history and vibrant economy, Daegu stands as a key player in South Korea's cultural and industrial landscape. Below is a summary of the changes I contributed. 1) Summarize and link Sights Section:  - Improved clarity by changing “mountains keep many traditional temples” to “the mountains keep many traditional temples.” Mosque Controversy Section:  - Simplified a sentence by removing “and of the authorities.” Festivals Section:  - Made phrasing smoother by changing “tho...
Read more

Week4 - Review about the readings for the next week. - Jo HyeonSeong (조현성)

 1. Summarize in my own words of materials. The book is primarily about the openness of Wikipedia. Openness means that anyone can participate in the creation and editing of articles without any qualifications. Openness can be a double-edged sword. While it means that you can edit without having expert knowledge of a topic, it also means that you can participate even if you have expert knowledge. For experts, articles written by non-experts can come across as inaccurate knowledge, which can anger experts. This anger can also be a catalyst for Wikipedia to continue to improve. However, articles edited only by non-experts can cause misunderstandings and convey incorrect information, so openness can be considered a double-edged sword. In fact, it sometimes causes some conflict, such as Wales' negative stance. Openness also means freedom from copyright, which means anyone can take it and use it anywhere. That is why the knowledge of non-experts can have greater impact. That is why appro...
Read more