A Brief History of Chinese Dictionaries

Author: Yun Wang

Translator: Yingxian Wang

I. Changes in Terminology

The term “zishu” refers to a type of literary work that explains the form, sound, meaning, and usage of Chinese characters. This term was commonly used during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. During the Qing Dynasty, the “Siku Quanshu,” a collection of books, categorized zishu into three types: “dictionaries,” “character books,” and “rhyme books.” The narrower definition of zishu refers to the ancient textbooks used for literacy education.

The term “dictionary” was first used as a book title in the Kangxi Dictionary during the Qing Dynasty. In ancient China, there were many works on character interpretation, which explained both individual characters and complex words. It was not until modern times that the term “dictionary” was specifically used to refer to works on characters, while the term “word dictionary” (or “vocabulary dictionary”) was used for works on words. However, the term “dictionary” generally encompasses both character and word dictionaries, since modern dictionaries often include both characters and words and they are interrelated.

The term “ci” refers to written expressions of language. The term “cishu” is used in place of “zishu” to include dictionaries, word dictionaries, and general encyclopedias, making its scope broader.

II. The Evolution of Chinese Characters in Dictionaries

The creation of Chinese characters can be traced back to Cangjie. At the beginning of character creation, there were only two types: pictographs and ideographs, while phonetic-semantic compounds and associative compounds were created later. The use of phonetic-semantic compounds and associative compounds expanded to include phonetic loan characters and borrowed characters. The earliest character book, the “Shizhao,” was written in the seal script and was only circulated in the Guanzhong area. After the unification of China by the Qin Dynasty, the “Cangjie Pian” was compiled, which simplified the seal script and was later known as the small seal script. As the scholar Zhang Taiyan put it, “The large seal script and small seal script are like what people nowadays call capital letters and lowercase letters,” illustrating the relationship between the two scripts. During the Han Dynasty, the clerical script was commonly used in official documents, while the ancient script was used in teaching. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the bronze script became popular. As a type of character book, the regular script has been used more frequently since the publication of the “Yupian” and continues to be used today.

Primitive writing (knots or pictographs)

The “Dazhuan” script (also known as the “Zhouwen” script) during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

The “Zhuan” script (also known as the “Xiaozhuan” script) during the Qin Dynasty.

The “Lishu” and “Caoshu” scripts during the Han Dynasty.

The “Kaishu” script during the Three Kingdoms period and thereafter.

III. The emergence of Chinese dictionaries

The origins of Chinese dictionaries can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty. The “Shi Zhou” compiled by the historian of King Xuan of Zhou, as recorded in the “Yiwen Zhi” of the “Book of Han”, is the earliest recorded Chinese dictionary.

“Shi Zhou” means “must-read book of records”. It was a dictionary used by the officials of the Zhou Dynasty to teach children. It was written in the “da zhuan” script and consisted of fifteen chapters.
“Cangjie Pian” was composed of “Cangjie” by Li Si of the Qin Dynasty, “Yuan Li” by Zhao Gao, and “Bo Xue” by Hu Mujing. It was known as the “Three Cangs of Qin” and was produced after the unification of the six states by Qin Shihuang, to implement the standardization of the written language. It was written in the “xiao zhuan” script, and only included words without explanations.
“San Cang” (also known as “San Cang”) was compiled in the Han Dynasty, including “Xun Zuan” written by the author of the “Cangjie Pian” and “Pang Xi” written by Jia Fang. These were compiled works of words without explanations.
“Ji Jiu Pian” was written by the historian of the Han Dynasty, You Mo, as an imitation of “Shi Zhou” and “Cangjie Pian”. It included commonly used characters of the time and served as a textbook for children learning to read. The book not only included single characters but also names of people, places, etc., and was categorized by similarity to aid recognition.

IV Main Form-based Dictionaries

“Shuowen Jiezi” can be regarded as the first dictionary in China. It is mainly based on seal script and explains characters according to the “Six Categories”. It laid the foundation for the “Main Form-based” dictionary and provided guidance for later dictionaries that were organized by radicals. “Yupian” and “Leipian” inherited the system of “Shuowen”, but were compiled in regular script and were no longer based on distinguishing shapes. These dictionaries were not suitable for general reference until the Ming Dynasty’s “Zihui”, when Chinese dictionaries began to take a practical and accessible path. It was not until the Qing Dynasty’s “Kangxi Dictionary” that the concept of a “dictionary” was first introduced.

“Shuowen Jiezi,” also known as “Shuowen,” is the first Chinese dictionary that systematically analyzes Chinese character forms and investigates their origins. It was written by Xu Shen of the Han dynasty and is one of the earliest dictionaries in the world. The book contains a total of 9,353 characters. The present version of “Shuowen” is the one edited by Xu Xuan of the Song dynasty. The book was the first to classify characters according to radicals and proposed the “Six Categories” theory for analyzing characters. It preserved most of the pre-Qin character forms and many character explanations from the Han dynasty and earlier, reflecting the vocabulary of ancient Chinese.

“Zi Lin” was compiled by the Jin dynasty scholar Lü Chen to collect rare and unusual characters to supplement the shortcomings of “Shuo Wen”. The book is mainly written in clerical script and organized by radicals, and it contains a total of 12,824 characters. It was popular during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period and served as a bridge between “Shuo Wen” and “Yu Pian”. Unfortunately, the book is now lost.
“Yu Pian”, compiled by the Southern Dynasty scholar Gu Yewang, is the first dictionary to use regular script. The current version of “Yu Pian” is the “Da Guang Yi Hui Yu Pian” compiled by Chen Pengnian and others in the Song Dynasty, consisting of 30 volumes. This book can be regarded as an expanded and revised edition of “Shuo Wen”, using the same radical system and explaining characters primarily based on their sounds and meanings, rather than the “Six Categories” used in “Shuo Wen”. Each character is accompanied by six phonetic annotations, followed by an explanation of its meaning. The annotations are of certain reference value to the study of ancient character interpretation, especially in the study of Tang and Song dynasty phonetics, and it is one of the better ancient reference books.
Tang and Song Dynasty Character Identification and Comparison Dictionaries

During the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, due to regional separatism and changes in written language, many errors and distortions were created. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, some character dictionaries were created to examine the similarities and differences between ancient and modern characters, compile variant forms, and distinguish common errors.

“Ganlu Character Dictionary” was written by Yan Yuansun of the Tang Dynasty. The characters in this book are divided into the seven tones of flat, rising, departing, and entering, and are arranged according to radicals. The characters are classified into three categories: standard, vulgar, and alternative forms, but their meanings are not explained word by word. Although this book is not a dictionary, it can be used as a list of variant characters for general readers.

“Five Classics Character Dictionary” was written by Zhang Can of the Tang Dynasty to examine the changes in the form and meaning of the eight characters in the Five Classics (such as seal, zhuo, and li script). The book contains 3,235 individual characters.

“Newly Added Nine Classics Character Samples” was written by Tang Xuandu of the Tang Dynasty to supplement or correct some of the content in the “Five Classics Character Dictionary”. The format is the same as “Five Classics Character Dictionary” and can be used as a reference for the study of the classics.

“Pei Xiao” was written by Guo Zhongshu of the Song Dynasty. This book annotates characters that are similar in form and sound but easily confused, helping to distinguish between similar characters.

“The Restoration Compilation” was written by Zhang Youwei of the Song Dynasty to correct Wang Anshi’s “Character Explanation”. The characters are recorded according to the four tones, and the standard, vulgar, and erroneous forms are distinguished based on the “Shuowen Jiezi”, which has reference value for the study of the changes in the form of ancient characters.

“The Character Compendium” was written by Li Congzhou of the Song Dynasty. Its purpose is to investigate the origins of characters and explain the commonly used radicals in regular script with “Shuowen Jiezi”, which can also be used as a reference for the study of the changes in the form of characters.

“The Dragon Altar Handbook” was written by Xingjun, a monk of the Liao Dynasty. It is arranged according to the four tones of flat, rising, departing, and entering. Each character is listed with its standard, vulgar, modern, and ancient forms, and its pronunciation and meaning are annotated. This book cites many Buddhist texts to verify the pronunciation and meaning, and can be used as a reference for a general dictionary of ancient characters.

The Development of “Shuowen Jiezi” - “Lei Pian”. It was compiled by Song Dynasty’s Sima Guang with a total of 31,319 characters. It inherited the system of “Shuowen” and “Yupian”, and focused on exploring the origins of characters, explaining ancient pronunciations and meanings, and clarifying the changes in the form of ancient and modern characters. It also absorbed a large number of new characters, and has high reference value.
The Evolution of “Shuowen Jiezi” - “Liushu Gu” and “Zi Shuo”.

“Liushu Gu” was compiled by Song Dynasty’s Dai Tong with a total of 33 volumes and 9 parts, each arranged according to the six categories of characters, and it aimed to explain the meaning of characters based on the six categories and used oracle bone and bronze inscriptions. The book provides some insights on interpretation, but in terms of the compilation of character dictionaries, it seems more like a restoration of the ancient than a real innovation.

“Zi Shuo” was written by Song Dynasty’s Wang Anshi, and was innovative for its time. The book focuses on defining meanings of characters and is subjective in its approach, but it has still been widely referenced by later generations.

The Ming and Qing dynasties were a period of evolution and prosperity for Chinese dictionaries, particularly in terms of practicality.

“The Comprehensive Collection of Learning”, written by Mei Yingzuo during the Ming Dynasty, is divided into twelve volumes, each corresponding to one of the twelve earthly branches. Its creativity is mainly reflected in the following aspects: (1) it simplifies the radical system used in dictionaries since the “Shuowen Jiezi” (a classical Chinese dictionary); (2) radicals and characters are arranged according to stroke count; (3) it includes a “character-checking table.” These innovations make it easy for readers to find what they are looking for and are the book’s main feature, marking the path that Chinese dictionaries took towards accessibility and practicality.

“The Correct Pronunciation of Characters”, written by Zhang Zilie (or Liao Wenying) during the Ming Dynasty, was written to fill in the gaps and correct mistakes in the “Zihui” (another classical Chinese dictionary). The format and organization of this book closely follow the “Zihui”, but there are still many improvements.

“The Kangxi Dictionary”, compiled by a team of thirty people including Zhang Yushu and Chen Tingjing during the Qing Dynasty, follows the format and organization of the “Zihui” and “The Correct Pronunciation of Characters”, but is even more comprehensive and rigorous. It uses the 214 radicals and is divided into twelve volumes based on the twelve Earthly Branches, containing a total of 47,035 characters. The book has a large collection of characters, detailed explanations of meanings and pronunciations, and has had a significant influence, still holding important reference value to this day.

V “Er Ya” Dictionary Series

“The Er Ya” is considered to be the ancestor of dictionaries, and also the first comprehensive dictionary arranged by semantic categories. It was first recorded in the “Yi Wen Zhi” section of the “Han Shu” but the author’s name was not included. “Er” means “near” (later written as “迩”) and “Ya” means “correct”, and here it specifically refers to “correct language”, which conforms to the standard norms in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. The book contains over 4,300 words, divided into 2,091 entries. It is the first book to classify words by their nature, and is considered the founding work of Chinese philology. It has important influence in the fields of philology, phonology, etymology, dialectology, and ancient writing studies. It is an important reference material for studying pre-Qin vocabulary and reading ancient books, and is considered a classic of Confucianism.

After the publication of the “Erya”, each generation of scholars compiled or imitated the style of the “Erya” to supplement it, and these books were all named “Ya”, forming a systematic tradition.

“Xiao Erya”, first recorded in the “Yiwen Zhi” of the “Han Shu”, author unknown. Its interpretation method entirely imitated that of the “Erya” and served as a supplement to the “Erya”.
“Guangya”, compiled by Zhang Yi of the Wei dynasty. Its name means to promote the “Erya”, and it has made remarkable achievements in preserving ancient interpretations and dialects of the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties. On the one hand, the book supplements the words and names of things not included in the “Erya”, and on the other hand, it provides additional explanations for existing interpretations. Although it is a continuation of the “Erya”, it is the most important ancient interpretation dictionary among the “Ya” books. Cao Xian of the Sui dynasty provided phonetic explanations for the “Guangya” and changed its name to “Boya”. Wang Niansun of the Qing dynasty compiled the “Guangya Shuzheng” to make corrections to the original book for the convenience of future research.
“Biya” was written by Lu Dian during the Song Dynasty, as a supplement to “Erya”. Lu Dian was deeply influenced by Wang Anshi and retained many of the ancient meanings of characters from before the Song Dynasty. This book can be used as a reference for reading classics, or as a dictionary of plants and animals.
“Erya Yi” was written by Luo Yuan during the Song Dynasty, and its name means “the wings of Erya”, paralleling it. This book explains in more detail than “Erya” and includes citations and discussions of experiences.

Although the dictionaries of the “Erya” school during the Ming and Qing dynasties were generally based on “Erya” and the subsequent “Yas” books, they made breakthroughs in both content and form. For example, “Tongya” explains dialects and colloquial expressions, and develops towards an encyclopedia. “Bieya” and “Dieya” each focus on one type of word and become specialized dictionaries for research.

“Pianya” was written by Zhu Mouwei during the Ming Dynasty, and specifically collects and explains obscure and profound words from ancient books. The format is similar to that of “Erya”, with extensive references and explanations of materials from classics, history, philosophy, and fiction, making it a valuable reference.
“Tongya” was written by Fang Yizhi during the Ming Dynasty, and is a dictionary that includes explanations of characters, interpretations, and phonetics. The format is similar to that of “Erya” and is a larger-scale dictionary with a well-organized structure.
“Bieya” was written by Wu Yuqing during the Qing Dynasty. This book collects materials from ancient books where characters have different forms but the same meaning, which are prone to misunderstandings, and compiles them into a dictionary.
“Biya” was written by Hong Liangji during the Qing Dynasty. The whole book imitates “Erya” and emphasizes the citation of ancient books, comparing and explaining synonyms, antonyms, and related contents. Its name also means “comparing and resembling.”
“Dieya” was written by Shi Menglan during the Qing Dynasty, imitating the format of “Erya” and specializing in discussing reduplicated words.

VI. Dialect and Colloquialism Dictionaries

“Fangyan”, whose full title is “Yóuxuán Shǐzhě Juédài Yǔ Shì Biégúo Fāngyán” (The Language of Other Countries, as Recorded by the Envoy of the Youxuan), also known as “Biégúo Fāngyán”, was compiled by Yang Xiong (also known as “Yang Xiong”) of the Western Han Dynasty. It is the first dialect dictionary in China. The content and form of the book to some extent imitate “Erya”. It records most of the dialects in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins during the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties. It opened up the research field of Chinese dialectology, established the Chinese dialect region, proposed dialect terms such as “tongyu” (common language) and “zhuanyu” (dialect), and made pioneering contributions to Chinese dialect research, leaving valuable language materials for future generations.
“Tongsuwen”, allegedly authored by Fu Qian of the Eastern Han Dynasty, is a dictionary that explains common language in both definition and pronunciation. It is a practical dictionary that focuses on usability, and has had some influence on later dictionaries and encyclopedias. This book is the first Chinese dictionary of common language. It is now lost.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were generally two types of dialect and colloquialism dictionaries. One type explains commonly used colloquialisms and sayings, such as “Liyuàn Jiě” (Explanations of Vernacular Words), which explains words and phrases, somewhat similar to “Tongsuwen”. This type of dictionary cites materials from various fields, expanding its coverage from the classics to categories, historical records, novels, dramas, and other trivial matters, making it almost a comprehensive knowledge dictionary. The other type focused on the dialect of a particular region, such as “Wuxia Fangyan Kao” (Study on the Wu Dialect), which is a genuine dialect dictionary, but there were few of them, and their influence was not significant.

“Explanation of Common Sayings” was written by Chen Yuanshi of the Ming Dynasty. “Common sayings” are opposite to “elegant sayings”, that is, local and customary language. The book contains mostly historical records and miscellaneous notes, followed by classifying books. Although it has some shortcomings, it still has some merits.
“Records of Elegant and Common Sayings” was written by Zhang Fengshen of the Ming Dynasty. It is divided into 19 sections, such as astronomy and geography, and compiled from various materials from different books. It has a wide range and often contains content not found in other dictionaries.
“General Examination of Worldly Matters” was written by Lu Xunyun of the Ming Dynasty. Its annotations are relatively simple, often only recording words without explanation. It is a common sense reading material for beginners.
“Frequent Talk about Examination Errors” was written by Zhou Mengyang of the Ming Dynasty. The book mostly corrects errors in the use of allusions in the secular world and has some reference value.
“Popular Compilation” was written by Zhai Hao of the Qing Dynasty. It collects various popular words and dialects (including words, phrases, idioms, and proverbs) in Chinese language, divided into 38 categories such as astronomy and geography, with a total of 5456 entries. It makes a useful exploration and study of the origin and development of the language used. It is also very valuable for the study of folk customs, famous objects, and systems.
“Hengyan Lu” was written by Qian Daxin of the Qing Dynasty, which is a book that verifies common and customary language. Its classification is better than “Popular Compilation”, and the collection of homophonic words is quite rich, focusing on the collection of synonyms and related words. The writing style of this book is close to modern dictionaries.
“Record of Local Customs” was written by Gu Zhangsi of the Qing Dynasty, which is a notebook-style dictionary that verifies folk customs and idioms, recording the customs and idioms of the people in the Jiangnan region since the Qianlong and Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. The book complements the gaps in “Popular Compilation” and “Hengyan Lu”.
“Verification of Customary Texts” was written by Hao Yixing of the Qing Dynasty. In addition to explaining famous objects and customs, it also includes some non-Chinese words and objects. Its extensive citation, rich content, rigorous explanation, and orderly editing make it the most valuable dictionary of its kind in the Qing Dynasty.
“Records of Different Names for Things”, written by Li Quanyuan and edited by Guan Huai, is composed of 39 sections. Each term is labeled with its correct name, and its different names are listed afterwards. Under each different name, sources are cited as evidence. Although it is not exhaustive, it provides clues for research on various aspects of common knowledge and the study of objects.
“An Investigation of Wu Dialect”, written by Hu Wenying, is a work that records and verifies dialect vocabulary. The book is divided into 12 volumes, collecting dialects and colloquial language in the Jiangnan region, and verifying them with ancient teachings. Other dialects that can be mutually verified with Wu dialect are also included.
“New Dialects”, collected by Zhang Binglin during the late Qing and early Republic of China period, contains over 800 words and phrases of local dialects. Based on the laws of sound and rhyme transformation, it verifies current language with ancient language and makes ancient language accessible to the current language. It is divided into eleven sections, including explanations of words, expressions, family relationships, and physical appearance, as well as one section on the “Three Prefectures beyond the Mountain” language in Guangdong, which is useful for studying the Hakka dialect.

VII. Explanatory dictionaries:

“Explanations of the Classics”, written by [Tang Dynasty] Lu Deming. The main purpose of this book is to verify the pronunciation of the words in the classic texts, and also to explain the meanings of the words. It provides some materials for studying the ancient pronunciation of the scriptures before the Tang Dynasty and opened the way for the glossary of classical texts.
“Yiqie Jing Yinyi” (The Sound and Meaning of All Scriptures), selected by [Tang Dynasty] Shi Xuan Ying from 454 Mahayana and Hinayana sutras, canons, and commentaries, and annotated them. Except for the difficult to understand Buddhist special terms transliterated or translated from Sanskrit, the general text interpretation almost accounts for half of the book, so it has the functions of both a Buddhist dictionary and a general dictionary.
“Yiqie Jing Yinyi” (also known as “Dazang Yinyi” or “Huilin Yinyi”), written by [Tang Dynasty] Shi Huilin, mainly serves as a supplement to Xuan Ying’s “Yiqie Jing Yinyi” and Hui Yuan’s “Huayan Jing Yinyi”. The Buddhist sutras selected for commentary in this book total 1,300 volumes in 5,700 scrolls, with about 600,000 words. The book mainly uses the explanations in the “Shuowen” and other seven character dictionaries, and refers to the pronunciations in the “Yunqian” and other rhyme dictionaries. Among the ancient dictionaries, it cites the most ancient books and has the richest content of preserved texts.
“Yiqie Jing Yinyi Continued”, written by [Liao Dynasty] Shi Xilin, is designed to supplement “Huilin Yinyi”, and its structure follows that of “Huilin Yinyi”.
“Exegesis and Interpretation of the Classics”, also known as “Jingji Zuangu” or “Jingji Zhuan Gu”, compiled by [Qing Dynasty] Ruan Yuan. It is the only large-scale glossary of ancient books compiled from the annotations of the classics, historical books, and commentaries before the Tang Dynasty in China. The explanations of the words and characters recorded in this book are all from the annotations of ancient books such as the classics, histories, and annotations before the Tang Dynasty. It uses more than 100 ancient books, with a total of 13,349 characters.

VIII. Other Special Dictionaries:

“Shi Ming” is the first of the 12 dictionaries of pronunciation and meaning. It was compiled by Liu Xi (also known as “Xi”) at the end of the Han dynasty. It consists of 27 sections and is a dictionary of encyclopedic terms. Based on the meanings of the characters, it explains their meanings using characters that sound similar or have similar pronunciation. The theoretical basis of this is that words with the same or similar meanings or sounds are connected in meaning. This is very helpful for later generations of compiling dictionaries with double rhyme and studying ancient Chinese.
“Banma Zi Lei” was written by Lou Ji in the Song dynasty. It collects ancient and obscure characters from Sima Qian’s “Records of the Grand Historian” and Ban Gu’s “Book of Han” and compiles them into a dictionary. The meanings of the characters are verified, and their sounds are distinguished, making it a useful reference for reading the “Records of the Grand Historian” and the “Book of Han.”
“Pei Wen Yun Fu” is a large dictionary of literary allusions and stories compiled by Zhang Yushu and others in the Qing dynasty. It is a tool book for literati to select words and find allusions when composing poetry. The main text consists of 444 volumes, and it cites approximately 1.4 million allusions from poems, articles, and literary works ranging from the pre-Qin period to the Ming dynasty. It is still an important tool for people to search for ancient words, idioms, and allusions.
“Pian Zi Lei Bian” is a tool book compiled by Zhang Tingyu and others in the Qing dynasty to search for words and allusions. It specializes in collecting composite words of two characters.
“Zhu Zi Bian Lue” is a dictionary written by Liu Qi in the Qing dynasty that specializes in collecting function words. Its content comes from classics, philosophers, poems, and other materials from the pre-Qin period to the Yuan dynasty, covering a wide range of topics and laying the foundation for the study of function words.
“Jing Zhuan Shi Ci” is a monograph written by Wang Yin in the Qing dynasty, mainly studying the function words in classics and other books, with the help of materials from 13 sub-books and other books.

VIIII Rhyme Books

Rhyme books are works aimed at distinguishing sounds and rhymes, belonging to the scope of phonology. They provide explanations for word meanings and records of word forms, and can also serve as dictionaries.

“Sheng Lei” (Classification of Sounds), written by Li Deng of the Wei Dynasty, collected 11,520 characters. It analyzes clear and voiced sounds, distinguishes the 14 palatal and retroflex sounds, and classifies words according to the five tones. This book is the earliest known Chinese rhyme book, but it has been lost.
“Yun Ji” (Collection of Rhymes), written by Lü Jing of the Jin Dynasty. This book inherited and developed Li Deng’s “Sheng Lei,” but it has been lost.
“Qie Yun” (Cutting Rhymes), written by Lu Fayan of the Sui Dynasty. It classifies characters by the four tones of level, rising, departing, and entering. This book was once popular and considered a standard work. However, it has been lost.
“Tang Yun” (Rhymes of the Tang Dynasty), revised and supplemented by Chang Sun Ne Yan and others based on “Qie Yun,” and renamed “Tang Yun.” However, it has been lost.
“Guang Yun” (Expanded Rhymes), revised by Chen Pengnian and others of the Song Dynasty to expand on “Qie Yun.” Later, it was renamed “Da Song Chongxiu Guang Yun” (Expanded Rhymes Reconstructed in the Great Song Dynasty) and collected 26,194 characters. This book is divided into rhyme sections, with annotations of fanqie (an ancient phonetic notation system) and considerations of word forms and meanings. “Guang Yun” is the earliest surviving rhyme book, and its value lies in its fanqie, which provides an important basis for the study of Middle Chinese phonology. It has extensive citations and serves as a kind of encyclopedic dictionary.
“Ji Yun” (Collection of Rhymes), written by Ding Du and others of the Song Dynasty, and completed by Sima Guang. This book was based on the revision of “Guang Yun,” and collected 54,635 characters. Its format is similar to that of “Guang Yun,” and although there are some improvements, its significance is not significant.
“Li Bu Yun Lüe” (Concise Rhyme Summary of the Ministry of Rites), revised by Ding Du and others of the Song Dynasty, was an official book used by scholars in poetry exams. It contains fewer characters and brief explanations.
“Pei Wen Shi Yun” (Rhymes for Wearing Jade and Writing Poetry), written in the Qing Dynasty, is actually a simplified version of “Pei Wen Yun Fu” (Rhyming Dictionary for the Wearing of Jade), and it was a standard official rhyme that Qing scholars had to follow. This book collected 10,235 characters.
“Yin Yun Chan Wei” (Exposition on the Minutiae of Phonology), revised by Li Guangdi of the Qing Dynasty and written by Wang Lansheng, has a distinctive feature in the reform of fanqie. Its pronunciations are neither Middle Chinese nor ancient Qin and Han Dynasty pronunciations, but are based on the official language of northern China during the Qing Dynasty.
“Yun Shi” (Rhyme History), written by He Xuan of the Qing Dynasty, collected characters based on “Shuo Wen” (Explaining Graphs), supplemented by “Yu Jian” (Jade Mirror) and “Guang Yun,” and had some significance in philology.

X. Influential Dictionaries of Modern Times

“Zhonghua Dictionary” was compiled by Lu Feikui and Ouyang Pu in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. The dictionary contains over 48,000 characters and is a large-scale dictionary after the “Kangxi Dictionary”. Its creation marked a new historical stage for Chinese lexicography. This dictionary made significant improvements in phonetic notation, definitions, and word explanations.
“Ci Quan” was written by Yang Shuda in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. Yang Shuda was proficient in textual criticism and understood Western grammar. His virtual word dictionary made further development based on the research of his predecessors. The book is organized by phonetic alphabet, radicals, and stroke order to look up characters.
“Ci Yuan” was compiled by the Commercial Press in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. It is the earliest large-scale dictionary in modern times that mainly focuses on words and includes common knowledge of encyclopedias. The publication of this book coincided with the period of enlightenment of new knowledge and reflects the intellectual status of the society and the knowledge community from the late Qing Dynasty to the May Fourth Movement. It is still a commonly used reference book.
“Ci Hai” was compiled by the Zhonghua Book Company and is the second comprehensive dictionary after “Ci Yuan”. The book was initiated in 1915 and published in 1936. It contains over 13,000 single characters and more than 100,000 complex words. It corrected some of the shortcomings and errors in “Ci Yuan”, and the content and format are relatively good.
“National Language Dictionary” was compiled by the Compilation Department of the Chinese Dictionary and published by the Commercial Press. Its main purpose is to correct pronunciation, define words, and explain meanings, in order to study the Chinese language and correct pronunciations. The dictionary collects a rich collection of words and is a large-scale dictionary that includes both old and new words. Its important value lies in the fact that its phonetic notation standard for characters and words is relatively accurate and comprehensive, and it is a precursor to the phonetic notation reform in modern dictionaries. The publication of “National Language Dictionary” (4 volumes) was in 1947, and there is another 8-volume version that was published in 1945, bearing the mark of Japanese occupation with the signature “Chinese Dictionary Compilation Department”. In Taiwan, “National Language Dictionary” is the most important Chinese language book and tool for promoting Mandarin.
“A Dictionary of Modern Chinese” is the first standardized Chinese language dictionary in China. It was compiled by the Language Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published by the Commercial Press. The dictionary was established by the state in 1956, officially started compiling in June 1958, and the “trial printing” was released in 1960 for opinions. The first official edition was published in 1978 and has been reprinted many times since then.

“A Dictionary of Modern Chinese” has reached new heights in dictionary theory, compilation level, and editorial quality, and is a model of dictionary compilation and publication. Its huge circulation and wide application are rare in the history of world dictionaries. It has an important influence on the unification and standardization of modern Chinese, the study and correct use of modern Chinese, and the expansion of China’s and the world’s communication.

After its publication, “A Dictionary of Modern Chinese” became a language tool book for teachers, students and various social groups. It is also known as the “Bible” for many countries and regions around the world studying and learning Chinese. Today, in addition to the mainland Chinese edition, there are also several other versions, such as the Singaporean, Korean and Hong Kong editions.

Note:

Elementary Education: Ancient Chinese scholars recognized the importance of learning characters before pursuing advanced studies. Therefore, Han Confucians referred to character learning as “elementary education.”
Exegesis: A discipline in traditional Chinese scholarship that studies the meaning of ancient texts. In addition to interpreting the meaning of ancient words, exegesis also analyzes the grammar and rhetorical phenomena found in ancient books. From a linguistic perspective, it studies ancient literature and helps people read classical texts.
Rhyme Book: A book that arranges Chinese characters according to their pronunciation. The purpose of this book is to distinguish and determine the correct pronunciation of characters. It falls within the scope of phonology materials. It also includes explanations of word meanings and recordings of characters, and can also serve as a dictionary.
Zhong Ding Wen: Also known as “Jin Wen,” it originated in the Shang Dynasty and developed based on oracle bone inscriptions. It is also called Zhong Ding Wen because it was cast on bronze vessels such as bells and tripods. Many of the surviving copies of this script were carved on bronze vessels, so they generally preserve the original writing better than oracle bone inscriptions. The study of this script was revived in the Song Dynasty.
Six Categories: A theory of analyzing Chinese characters that was popular from the Warring States period onwards. The six categories are: (1) “Indicative,” which refers to characters that are recognizable at first glance and convey meaning; (2) “Pictographic,” which refers to picture-like characters; (3) “Phonetic-semantic,” which is composed of two parts, with one indicating meaning and the other indicating sound; (4) “Associative,” which combines two or more characters to express a certain meaning; (5) “Derivative,” which refers to two characters that have similar meanings and can be used to explain each other; and (6) “Loan,” which means using characters with similar or close sounds to express meaning.
Fanqie: A method of phonetic notation used by ancient Chinese scholars, also known as “Fan,” “Qie,” “Fan Yu,” etc. The basic rule of fanqie is to use two characters to give the pronunciation of one character. The initial consonant of the top character is taken as the initial sound, while the final consonant and tone of the bottom character are taken as the final sound.
Ping, Shang, Qu, and Ru: These are the four tones of Middle Chinese, which were prevalent during the Tang and Song dynasties. They are the root of the traditional Chinese phonology system and the basis of Tang and Song poetry prosody. Understanding the four pronunciations and reading poetry can help appreciate the vastness and beauty of the Chinese language rhythm. Among the four tones, Shang, Qu, and Ru are considered as oblique tones, while the others are considered as flat tones.
Five Classics: Refers to the Confucian classics “Book of Songs,” “Book of Documents,” “Book of Rites,” “I Ching,” and “Annals of Spring and Autumn.” They are the core texts studied by Confucian scholars throughout history.
Catalogues of Books: A type of large-scale reference book in ancient China. It collects materials from various books and arranges them according to categories, characters, and so on for easy reference. From the perspective of the information age, catalogues of books are the ancient “databases.”
Common language: The common language refers to the language that is commonly understood and used by most members of a tribe or nation. It is gradually formed in the daily life of people in a certain region in the form of oral language.
Transformed language: Refers to words that have different pronunciations due to regional differences, but have the same meaning.
Phonosemantic compound: Also known as “sound interpretation”, it is one of the methods of philological interpretation. It refers to the explanation of word meaning using characters with similar or identical sounds.
Classics of Masters: A category of books in the ancient Chinese classification system of the Four Books and Five Classics, including books such as “Laozi”, “Mozi”, “Xunzi”, and “Hanfeizi”. The earliest batch of “Zishu” were produced during the Hundred Schools of Thought in the late Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period, many of which are precious cultural relics of ancient Chinese thought.
Gong and Shang: In ancient Chinese music theory, Gong and Shang are two of the basic notes, and later they were used to refer to music in general.

Main reference materials:

“A Brief History of Chinese Lexicography” by Liu Yeqiu, published by Beijing Publishing House.

“The Compilation Office of the Chinese Dictionary, the First Professional Institution of Lexicography in Modern China” by Wang Jiarong.

“Learning National Studies with the Masters” by Meng Hua, published by Jiangxi Fine Arts Publishing House.