Cihai: Dictionary of Words

Author: Xia Zhengnong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-06-12
Features: The Ci Hai is a large-scale comprehensive dictionary that combines character-based entries with dictionary, language and literature dictionary, and encyclopedic dictionary functions. The 1999 edition of Ci Hai was revised based on the 1989 edition. The number of single characters increased from 16,534 to 19,485, and the number of entries increased from 120,000 to 122,835. The total volume of the book expanded by approximately 4 million words compared to the 1989 edition. Most of the new entries are newly emerging terms from the past decade, such as "Internet," "multimedia," "genetically modified animals," "socialist market economy," and so on. The book includes over 16,000 illustrations, most of which are color photographs, making this illustrated edition of Ci Hai a pioneering achievement among large-scale dictionaries in China.
The magnificent Ci Hai is the crystallization of centuries of effort by generations of scholars. The earliest planning and initiation of Ci Hai began in 1915. At that time, Mr. Lu Fei Bohong, the host of the Commercial Press, was determined to compile a comprehensive dictionary that combined Chinese characters, words, and encyclopedic knowledge. His grand vision was deeply admired. Inspired by the meaning of "nurturing the vast sea," the book was named Ci Hai.
The original Ci Hai project was launched in the autumn of 1915 and was intermittently carried out until 1928. From 1928 onwards, Mr. Shu Xingcheng was appointed as the chief editor of Ci Hai, and in 1936, the two massive volumes of Ci Hai were finally published, creating a sensation across the country and gaining great reputation at the time, becoming a landmark event in the history of Chinese publishing.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong officially decided to revise the original Ci Hai in September 1957 in Shanghai, marking the second spring and the second phase of development for Ci Hai. In May 1958, the Commercial Press Ci Hai Editorial Department was established, and in the summer of 1959, the Ci Hai Editorial Committee was formed. In March 1960, the trial draft of Ci Hai was released, and in November, based on the initial draft, the second draft of Ci Hai was formed. In October 1961, the trial edition of Ci Hai in 16 volumes, organized by subject categories, was published internally. In April 1963, the Ci Hai (unfinalized draft) was also published internally.
After years of ups and downs, Ci Hai entered a new era amidst the changes of the times. In 1979, the three-volume Ci Hai was officially published, with over 5,000 experts completing their long-cherished dream over more than two decades, presenting a grand gift to the 30th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Guided by the principles of renewal, supplementation, and correction, the 1989 edition of Ci Hai was published, and Jiang Zemin inscribed a message that highly summarized and summarized the spirit of Ci Hai.
As the new millennium approached, the 1999 edition of Ci Hai, with substantial revisions and supplements, was released, and the illustrated edition was introduced as the main version.