Newly Compiled Chinese Synonym Dictionary -- Student's Mini Chinese Dictionary

Author: Zhou Yaohong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Synonyms, as a linguistic phenomenon, are languages in the world. Chinese is one of the oldest languages in history. Chinese synonyms are very rich, and ancient Chinese scholars noticed this phenomenon as early as possible. Zhuangzi pointed out in "Zhi Bei You": "Zhou, Bian, Xian are different names but the same meaning, their reference is one." Using synonyms to explain word meanings was an important method of word meaning explanation in ancient China and also the origin of synonym research in Chinese. The earliest existing Chinese dictionary, "Erya," primarily used the method of explaining synonyms by synonyms and pioneered the horizontal comparison of synonyms. Statistics show that the first three parts of "Erya," namely "Shi Guo," "Shi Yan," and "Shi Xun," contain 578 sets of synonyms, involving 2028 words. After "Erya," the yaxue-class dictionaries inherited "Erya" and expanded it even more. In the early Wei Dynasty, Zhang Yi's "Gang Ya" alone included 504 sets of synonyms in the "Shi Guo" section, with each set containing dozens of words. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Mouwei's "Pian Ya" focused on disyllabic words, showing the trend of synonyms evolving from monosyllabic to disyllabic words. In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Niansun's "Gang Ya Shuzheng," Hao Yixing's "Erya Yishu," and Hong Liangji's "Bi Ya" particularly emphasized the differentiation of synonym meanings. Not only yaxue-class dictionaries used the method of explaining synonyms by synonyms, but ancient Chinese character dictionaries also recognized the cognitive function of synonyms. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" often arranged synonyms together in the same radical and extensively used the method of mutual explanation by synonyms, occasionally providing brief differentiation. In the Qing Dynasty, dictionaries like Duan Yucai's "Shuowen Jiezi Zhu," Zhu Junsheng's "Shuowen Tongxun Dingsheng," etc., further refined the differentiation of synonyms based on Xu Shen's original explanations. Some ancient Chinese literary classics also paid attention to the phenomenon of synonyms and emphasized the differentiation of their meanings. For example, in "Zuo Zhuan · Zhuang Gong 29th Year": "Generally, if a army has bells and drums, it is called 'fayue'; without them, it is called 'qin'; lightly, it is called 'xi.' In "Wen Gong 7th Year": "If war starts internally, it is called 'luan'; externally, it is called 'kou.' In "Xiang Gong 4th Year": "Consulting the virtuous is 'zi'; consulting family is 'xun'; consulting etiquette is 'du'; consulting matters is 'ye'; consulting difficulties is 'ye.' In "Liji · Qu Li": "An emperor's death is called 'beng'; a feudal lord's is called 'jian'; a minister's is called 'zu'; a scholar's is called 'bulu'; and a commoner's is called 'si.'" In the annotations to these classics, there is even more differentiation of synonyms. For example, in "Shijing · Daya · Gong Liu": "Yu nang yu nang." Mao Zhuan: "Small is 'nang,' large is 'nang.'" Also: "Yu shi yan yan, yu shi yu yu." Mao Zhuan: "Speaking straightforwardly is 'yan,' discussing difficulties is 'yu.'" In "Lunyu · Xue Er": "Having friends come from afar." Zheng Xuan notes: "People of the same door are called 'peng,' people with the same purpose are called 'you.'" Qu Yuan's "Li Sao": "I have no difficulty with parting, but I pity the transformations of Ling Xiu." Wang Yi notes: "Close is 'li,' far is 'bie.'" Ancient Chinese scholars, when differentiating word meanings, proposed concepts such as "duiwen" (antonymic expressions), "sawnan" (nonsynonymous expressions), "hunyan" (general expressions), and "xianyan" (specific expressions). For example, in "Erya · Shi Cao": "Wood is called 'hua,' grass is called 'rong.'" Xing Biao's commentary in the Song Dynasty: "This is an antonymic expression. When not paired, grass is also called 'hua,' as seen in the 'Zheng Feng' section: 'Yi has lotus flowers.'" "Shuowen": "A palace is a 'shi.'" Duan Yucai's note in the Qing Dynasty: "A palace refers to the outer surroundings, while a room refers to the inner. When specifically explained, they differ, but when generally explained, they are not distinguished." Also: "A state is a 'bang.'" Duan Yucai notes: "The 'Yi Bu' section states: 'A state is a 'bang.' According to this, 'bang' and 'guo' mutually explain each other, speaking generally. The 'Zhou Li' notes: 'Large is a 'bang,' small is a 'guo.' A 'bang' is also called a 'guo,' when specifically explained.'" Ancient scholars, when differentiating word meanings, not only noticed the subtle differences between synonym meanings but also the historical changes of synonyms. For example, in "Erya · Shi Tian": "Zai, the year. In the Xia Dynasty, it was called 'sui,' in the Shang Dynasty, 'si,' in the Zhou Dynasty, 'nian,' and in Tang and You, 'zai.'" In "Mengzi · Teng Wen Gong 1st Year": "In the Xia Dynasty, it was called 'xiao,' in the Shang Dynasty, 'xu,' and in the Zhou Dynasty, 'yang.' Learning was shared by the three dynasties." "Shuowen": "A hall is a 'dian.'" Duan Yucai's note: "A hall is a sound of striking. It is borrowed as the character for palace halls." "Xu used 'dian' to explain 'tang' because of the modern explanation of the ancient. Anciently, it was called 'tang,' after the Han Dynasty, it was called 'dian.' Anciently, both above and below were called 'tang,' after the Han Dynasty, both above and below were called 'dian,' and after the Tang Dynasty, no ministers called it 'dian.'" Also: "Ju, a shoe." Duan Yucai's note: "In Jin, Cai Mo said: 'What is called 'ju' today, was called 'ju' before the Han Dynasty.'" According to Cai's statement, it is very precise. The "Yi," "Shijing," "Three Rituals," "Spring and Autumn Annals," and "Mengzi" all say 'ju,' not 'liu.' The philosophers of the late Zhou Dynasty and Han Dynasty texts call it 'liu.' The "Shijing" and "Yi" both say 'liu' three times, referring to stepping. Therefore, 'liu' originally meant stepping, later it was used as the name of a shoe, and the ancient and modern languages differ. Xu used the modern to explain the ancient, so he said the ancient 'ju' is the modern 'liu.'" Despite the limitations of ancient scholars' exploration in differentiating synonym meanings, sometimes they did not distinguish between generalizing word meanings and interpreting them contextually, and the depth and breadth of their research were limited, this exploration still laid the foundation for synonym research and provided much inspiration for studying the phenomenon of synonyms in Chinese. The compilation of synonym dictionaries is a practical result of people's understanding and research of synonym phenomena and is an important tool for promoting the standardization of language use and improving language cultivation. Therefore, people regard the compilation of synonym dictionaries as an important sign of cultural development. Ancient China has always paid great attention to the collection, organization, compilation, and differentiation of synonyms. With "Erya" as a representative, yaxue-class dictionaries have essentially taken the form of synonym dictionaries, so some countries' encyclopedias refer to them as "Synonym Dictionaries." Professor Lü Shuxiang proposed compiling a modern synonym dictionary in 1955, and Professor Zhang Zhiyi's "Simple Synonym Dictionary" is one of the earlier synonyms dictionaries. After "Simple Synonym Dictionary," there were also "Modern Chinese Synonym Dictionary" edited by Liu Shuxin, and so on. Now, "Newly Compiled Synonym Dictionary" by Shanghai Yuan Dong Publishing House has also been compiled and published. Thanks to the generous invitation of the editor, I, despite my limited knowledge, briefly discuss the origin of synonym research. Regarding the general picture and development trends of synonym research in Chinese, the author has another article, "An Overview of Synonym Research," to discuss, but due to space limitations, this will not be elaborated here.