  According to recent theoretical studies, classical novae are expected to
erupt every ~$10^5$ years, while the recurrence time scale of modern recurrent
novae (N_r) stars ranges from 10 to ~100 years. To bridge this huge gap in our
knowledge (three orders of magnitude in time scales), it appears attractive to
consider historical data: In Far Eastern sources, we searched for brightening
events at different epochs but similar positions that possibly refer to
recurrent nova eruptions. Probing a sample of ~185 Asian observations from ~500
BCE to 1700 CE, we present a method to systematically filter possible events.
The result are a few search fields with between 2 and 5 flare ups and typical
cadences between $10^2$ and $10^3$ years. For most of our recurrence
candidates, we found possible counterparts among known cataclysmic variables in
the corresponding search areas. This work is based on an interdisciplinary
approach, combining methods from digital humanities and computational
astrophysics when applying our previously developed methods in searches for
classical novae among Far Eastern guest stars. A first and rather preliminary
comparison of (possible) historical and (well known) modern recurrent novae
reveals first tentative hints on some of their properties, stimulating further
studies in this direction.
