@dhcckb/mcp-server-dila-time

@dhcckb/mcp-server-dila-time

MCP Server for Chinese-Western calendar conversion using the DILA Buddhist Studies Time Authority Database.

Features

• Chinese → Western Calendar Conversion: Convert dynasty + era name + year to Western (Gregorian/Julian) dates
• Precise Day-Level Conversion (v1.1.0): Supports month and day parameters to get exact Western dates via DILA drill-down
• Natural Language Date Parsing: Parse Chinese date strings like "乾隆二十五年十月初三" directly
• Era Name Search: Fuzzy search for dynasty and era names by keyword
• Ganzhi (Sexagenary Cycle) Lookup: Find Western years corresponding to a Chinese sexagenary cycle combination

Installation

npx @dhcckb/mcp-server-dila-time

Or install globally:

npm install -g @dhcckb/mcp-server-dila-time
mcp-server-dila-time

MCP Client Configuration

Add to your MCP client configuration (e.g., Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dila-time": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@dhcckb/mcp-server-dila-time"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

dila_convert_chinese_to_western

Convert a Chinese calendar date to Western calendar date. When both month and day are provided, uses DILA website drill-down to obtain precise day-level conversion.

Parameters:

• dynasty (required): Dynasty name, e.g., 唐, 宋, 明, 清
• era_name (required): Era/reign name, e.g., 贞观, 康熙, 乾隆
• year (required): Year number within the era, e.g., 3 for 贞观三年
• month (optional): Lunar month (1-12)
• day (optional): Lunar day (1-30)
• month_is_leap (optional): Whether it's a leap month, default false

convert_chinese_date_full (NEW in v1.1.0)

Convert Chinese era date to precise Western date with structured JSON output. Supports year-only (returns year range), year+month (returns month range), and year+month+day (returns exact date with confidence level).

Parameters:

• eraName (required): Era name, e.g., "乾隆", "康熙"
• year (required): Year number, e.g., 25
• month (optional): Month 1-12, use negative for leap month (e.g., -6 = 闰六月)
• day (optional): Day 1-30

Example: eraName="乾隆", year=25, month=10, day=3 → "1760-11-10" with confidence "exact"

parse_chinese_date (NEW in v1.1.0)

Parse natural language Chinese date strings and convert to Western dates using DILA.

Parameters:

• dateString (required): Chinese date string, e.g., "乾隆二十五年十月初三", "康熙六十年闰六月十五"

Example: dateString="乾隆二十五年十月初三" → "1760-11-10"

dila_search_era_names

Search for dynasty or era names by keyword.

Parameters:

• keyword (required): Search keyword (partial dynasty or era name)
• dynasty (optional): Limit results to a specific dynasty
• limit (optional): Maximum number of results, default 10

dila_lookup_ganzhi_year

Look up Western years for a given sexagenary cycle combination.

Parameters:

• ganzhi (required): Sexagenary cycle combination, e.g., 甲子, 乙丑, 戊戌
• dynasty (optional): Limit results to a specific dynasty

Data Source

All data is sourced from the DILA Buddhist Studies Time Authority Database, maintained by the Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts.

The day-precision conversion works by programmatically drilling down through DILA's web interface:

1. Search for the era name → obtain dynasty and emperor parameters
2. Navigate to the specific year → list of months with western date ranges
3. Navigate to the specific month → list of days with exact western dates
4. Extract the precise western date for the target day

Changelog

v1.1.0

• Added convert_chinese_date_full tool for precise day-level conversion with structured JSON output
• Added parse_chinese_date tool for natural language Chinese date parsing
• Enhanced dila_convert_chinese_to_western to use drill-down when month and day are provided
• Support for leap months (闰月)
• Support for 元年 (first year of era) notation
• In-memory HTTP caching for DILA responses (30-minute TTL)

v1.0.0

• Initial release with basic era/year conversion, era search, and ganzhi lookup

Fallback

If the DILA website is unavailable or its HTML structure changes, the tools will return an error with a suggestion to visit https://authority.dila.edu.tw/time/index.php directly.

License

MIT