Ancient Texts Dictionary. Volume 9

Author: Li Pu, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The Shuowen Jiezi Gulin (Comprehensive Dictionary of Ancient Characters) is the largest-scale specialized reference book on ancient character glosses in China to date. It "collects ten thousand volumes into one, gathers all opinions into one compilation," compiling large-scale reference books on ancient character forms and research interpretations to date. The collected interpretive materials cover eight types of unearthed ancient characters (including oracle bone script, bronze script, Warring States and Qin-Han seal script, Warring States coin script, pottery script, Warring States and Qin-Han bamboo slips script, silk manuscript, stone inscriptions, and Spring and Autumn/Warring States stone, etc.) and transmitted ancient characters (including Seal script from Shuowen Jiezi, variant forms, ancient script, Zou script, rare characters, ancient script from the Three-Body Stone Classics, ancient script from the Hanjian, and ancient script from the Ancient Script Four-Tonal Rhyme). It nearly encompasses all categories of ancient characters. There are about ten thousand character entries, with a total of approximately ten million words of interpretive materials, representing the culmination of a century of research and interpretation achievements in ancient character studies. Its publication will provide an indispensable reference book with substantial evidence for the study of Chinese characters, the compilation of large-scale dictionaries, the organization of ancient classics, and related social sciences.
In terms of our publishing work, the publication of Gulin has presented a challenge to our publishing house and editorial staff. Because Gulin features a large-scale compilation and high technical difficulty, it has set new and higher requirements for our publishing work.
I. Large Scale. The book is divided into 14 volumes according to Shuowen Jiezi, plus two additional volumes not included in Shuowen Jiezi, totaling 16 volumes. We have roughly organized the content into 10 volumes, with a total of approximately ten million words. It is currently the largest-scale, most comprehensive, and most complete ancient character glossary reference book, with wide applications. The scope of the materials includes research monographs, individual papers, and annotations on character interpretations. All authentic and reliable interpretations of ancient characters with original insights are included. It particularly emphasizes the collection of new materials and achievements since the publication of Ding Fubao's Shuowen Jiezi Gulin in the 1920s. Unlike specialized reference books like Jinwen Gulin by Zhou Fagao in Hong Kong, Jiawu Wenzi Jishu by Li Xiaojing in Taiwan, and Jiawu Wenzi Gulin by Yu Shengwu in Jilin, which focus on a single category of characters, Gulin is the largest ancient character book published after Shuowen Jiezi Gulin.
Even for the published volumes alone, the original manuscripts alone fill more than ten large paper boxes, divided into thousands of data bags. Each time we send out materials, we use small vans to transport them back and forth. Therefore, this is not only an extremely demanding intellectual labor for our editors but also a test of their professional knowledge and skills. It is also an extremely physically demanding task, which we jokingly call a physical endurance test.
From the perspective of work procedures, we broke the original process requiring manuscripts to be sent from the editorial office to the marketing department and then to the publishing department. We established a dedicated publishing coordination team to oversee the entire publishing process, ensuring the smooth flow and progress of the manuscript.
II. Significant Human Resources Input. As a large-scale cultural heritage project, Gulin requires significantly higher quality standards than general publications. From the layout design to the selection of fonts and sizes, even down to the reasonable determination of character spacing and line spacing, from the paper selection to the repeated revisions of the cover and binding, every step follows the directive from municipal leaders to treat the publication of Gulin as a landmark cultural project for Shanghai.
Because Gulin involves highly specialized knowledge, general editors and proofreaders cannot handle it. Therefore, we mobilized experienced and specialized editorial staff, organized dedicated proofreading personnel, and involved them in the editorial committee's work in advance to familiarize themselves with the content and procedures, working together to complete the task.
III. High Difficulty. The original manuscripts contain a large number of ancient characters and handwritten scripts, some of which are of poor quality due to multiple photocopies, making computer processing very challenging. The encoding of ancient characters, the recognition of handwritten cursive scripts, and the conversion between traditional and simplified characters are also prone to errors, significantly increasing the difficulty of editing and proofreading.
What makes it even more complicated is that, as a large-scale reference book, it involves the uniformity of the entire book's format and style. Achieving this cannot be fully determined at the beginning; it requires continuous adjustments and improvements during the editorial review and editing process. Sometimes, a small change in the later content or format requires revising all related content from the beginning. All of this requires not only professional knowledge but also a strong sense of dedication and responsibility. Our editorial and publishing staff have shown patience and perseverance, repeatedly reviewing and refining to ensure that Gulin becomes a masterpiece.
On the other hand, in terms of production techniques, we have also overcome difficulties and strived for excellence. As a publishing house, we invested heavily in initial funds and continued to demand the use of the best paper and craftsmanship throughout the publishing process. However, due to existing production technology limitations, after the first batch of volumes was published, the covers curled in the air-conditioned room due to excessive thickness. We immediately organized personnel to actively communicate with the factory, conduct detailed research, and redesign the production to ensure the quality of the book. The goal is to reflect Shanghai's academic standards in content and publishing standards in form.
IV. Complex Procedures. Due to the above characteristics of the book, its publishing process is different from ordinary publications and is particularly complex. Each volume requires thousands of character entry bags of manuscripts and proofs, constantly circulating between the editorial committee, the publishing house, and the computer company. Given the large scale and tight deadlines, any minor error in a character entry bag will inevitably affect the entire book's publication schedule. Editorial, proofreading, and publishing staff have devoted themselves fully to the work. For proofreading alone, there have been eight rounds, and reviewing one million words of content for Gulin is undoubtedly much more demanding than reviewing other manuscripts.
V. New Technology. Traditional reference books on ancient character interpretations were compiled using manual copying, pasting, and photocopying methods, resulting in slow production cycles and difficulties for readers in identification. This time, to reflect the high standards of Shanghai's landmark cultural project, the spirit of the times, and Shanghai's publishing level, and to ensure printing quality, we abandoned the traditional manual methods that had been followed for many years. We actively developed and applied modern technology with Jieshen Computer Company, adopting computer-generated character typesetting and establishing a batch of ancient character computer fonts. This is the first time in China that ancient characters have been computer-processed, filling the gap in this field. These ancient character fonts have not only played a significant role in the typesetting of Gulin but also provided strong support and guarantees for the publishing and printing of other similar works in the future.