Cihai (Condensed Edition)

Author: Xia Zhengnong, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: The Ci Hai is a large-scale, comprehensive dictionary that organizes entries by characters and incorporates the functions of a dictionary, a language and literature dictionary, and an encyclopedic dictionary. It was first published in Shanghai by the Zhonghua Book Company in 1936. Subsequently, the 1979 and 1989 editions of Ci Hai were released on the occasion of the 30th and 40th anniversaries of the founding of the People's Republic of China. These two editions were available in three-volume sets, compact editions, supplemented editions, and subject-specific volumes. Among them, the three-volume and compact editions have a cumulative circulation of over five million copies. In 1992, Shanghai Ci Shu Press collaborated with Dong Hua Book Company to publish the Ci Hai (1989 edition) in Taiwan. In 1993, Ci Hai won the Honor Award, the highest prize of the first National Book Award. The Ci Hai (1999 edition) appeared before readers with both new content and a fresh design. This edition is slightly larger in scope than the 1989 edition, with numerous revised entries, primarily to reflect changes in domestic and international situations, as well as advancements in culture, science, and technology. It also addresses omissions, corrects errors, and streamlines a small number of entries and definitions. This edition introduces a color-illustrated version, featuring over 16,000 images, and presents a redesigned layout divided into four volumes, along with appendices and an index volume. Additionally, the popular three-volume edition continues to be published, with compact and supplementary editions, as well as subject-specific volumes and CDs. This book is the compact edition, containing a total of 19,485 single characters (including traditional and variant characters), with 17,674 listed as character heads. The character heads and the entries listed under them (including general and encyclopedic terms) total 122,835 entries.