Shuowen Jiezi Note

Author: Xu Shen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-03-01
Features: Shuowen Jiezi was compiled by Xu Shen during the Eastern Han Dynasty. This annotation was written by Duan Yucai in the Qing Dynasty. It is a landmark classic in the history of Chinese linguistics, serving as the first dictionary to systematically analyze character forms, explain meanings, differentiate pronunciations, and record sound values using the Six Book theory. Duan Yucai categorized the 9,353 ancient characters into 54 sections, arranging them from one to hai (the last character in the traditional lunar calendar), and grouping them by form. He also developed and applied the radical index system for efficient lookup.