Zhang Cao Dictionary

Author: Huang Tangsheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Cangcao (Zhangcao) matured during the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the Eastern Han, Wei, and Jin periods. Afterward, it experienced a brief revival during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, but the methods of Cangcao gradually faded, and renowned Cangcao calligraphers became scarce. Despite this, Cangcao still shines with a magical light in the history of Chinese calligraphy due to its unique script. The transmission of Cangcao is inseparable from the spread of the Jiju Pian (Emergency Treatise). The Jiju Pian was an elementary textbook during the Western Han Dynasty, compiled by Shi You, the Chief of the Yellow Gate during the reign of Emperor Yuan. The book covers a wide range of content, contains a large number of characters, and is both standardized and practical. Many great calligraphers throughout history have written the Jiju Pian in Cangcao. Tang Yan Shigu revised the Jiju Pian based on manuscripts by Zhong Yao, Huang Xiang, Wei Fen, and Wang Xizhi. In the Song Dynasty, Ye Mengde used Yan Shigu's annotations to correct Cangcao copies. In the Ming Dynasty, Yang Zheng engraved the Songjiang Jiju Pian. The survival of Cangcao in such a miraculous way can be considered a marvel in the history of Chinese culture. This book has the following five features:
1. The writing method of the first character (shouzi) is consistent with that of repeated characters (chongwen). Most calligraphy dictionaries exhibit inconsistency between the first character and repeated characters, with a single character often having multiple forms. Determined by the structural characteristics of Cangcao's "ten thousand variations of a single character," the first character and repeated characters in this book differ only in calligraphic style, not in structural form, reflecting the principle of Cangcao's "easy to write and easy to understand."
2. The order of characters in each section follows the radical (busou) as the vertical axis and strokes as the horizontal axis. The book is organized by radicals, which aligns closely with modern Chinese dictionaries for easy retrieval. It also breaks the conventional radical arrangement by using the position of the radical as the order of characters, showcasing the variations in each radical's position, which aids in analyzing and summarizing the structure of Cangcao.
3. Each character is annotated with Pinyin for pronunciation. The combination of sound and form facilitates recognition and reading.
4. Simplified characters are listed, making it convenient for comparison between traditional and simplified forms, as well as clarifying simplified characters derived from cursive-to-standard transformations.
5. Seal script (zhuanshu) is included, which is beneficial for deeply understanding the origins and norms of Cangcao.