Shuowen Jiezi character annotation

Author: Qing Dynasty Wang Yun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-11-01
Features: After the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, the study of Shuowen Jiezi flourished. Works such as Yan Kejun's Shuowen Jiaoyi, Duan Yucai's Shuowen Jiezi Zhushi, Gui Fu's Shuowen Jiezi Yizheng, and Wang Yun's Shuowen Shili were all renowned masterpieces of the time. Beyond these great scholars, works by figures like Niu Shuyu, Wang Xu, and Wang Yushu also contained profound insights into the interpretation of characters. Wang Yun's Shuowen Jiezi Joudu was compiled on the foundation of these works, with selective additions, deletions, and revisions. Originally, Wang Yun intended to "either add, delete, or revise" the works of Yan, Duan, and Gui, "without providing annotations," to create a single book that would be convenient for beginners to study. Later, influenced by his friends, he changed his plans and instead extracted the essence of the aforementioned works, "extensively observing yet concisely selecting," interweaving his own ideas to form a unique perspective. In this way, he completed the Shuowen Jiezi Joudu in "twenty days," resulting in a work of twenty volumes. In ancient times, when reading, people often marked and annotated texts, calling it "joudu" (sentence and punctuation marks), believing it to be the fundamental skill of reading. Wang Yun titled his annotations of Shuowen as "joudu," humbly suggesting that his book was merely a basic introduction to reading Shuowen. However, due to his extensive knowledge and precise selections, the academic value of Shuowen Jiezi Joudu has long surpassed the mere concept of "joudu."