Ancient Texts Dictionary Volume 3

Author: Li Pu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-12-01
Features: The Guwen Guzulin (Comprehensive Dictionary of Ancient Characters) is the largest-scale professional reference book on ancient character compilation and interpretation 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 achievements 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 alliance inscriptions) and inherited ancient characters (including Shuowen Jiezi small seal script, variant forms, ancient script, Zou script, rare characters, Santiji ancient script, Hanshan and Guwen Sisheng Yun ancient script). It nearly encompasses all branches of ancient character studies. With approximately ten thousand character entries and a total of ten million words of interpretive materials, it is a culmination of a century of research achievements in ancient character interpretation. Its publication will provide an indispensable reference book with comprehensive and reliable materials 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 Guwen Guzulin has presented a challenge to our publishing house and editorial staff. Because Guwen Guzulin has the characteristics of large-scale compilation and high technical difficulty, it has also raised higher and more stringent 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 divided it into 10 volumes, with a total of ten million words, making it the largest-scale, most comprehensive, and most complete ancient character compilation and interpretation dictionary to date, with a wide range of applications. The scope of the materials includes research monographs, individual papers, and annotations on character compilation and interpretation. All authentic and reliable interpretive achievements in ancient characters are included. It particularly emphasizes the collection of new materials and achievements since the publication of Ding Fubao's Shuowen Jiezi Guzulin in the 1920s. Unlike specialized reference books that focus on a single type of character, such as Zhou Fagao's Jinwen Guzulin in Hong Kong, Li Xiaojing's Jiawen Wenzi Jishu in Taiwan, and Yu Shengyou's Jiawen Wenzi Guzulin in Jilin, Guwen Guzulin is the largest ancient character book published after Shuowen Jiezi Guzulin.
Even for the published volumes alone, the original manuscript alone fills more than a dozen large paper boxes, packaged into thousands of data bags. Each time we send out materials, we use a small van 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 a physically demanding task, and we jokingly say it is a physical endurance test for our editors.
From the perspective of work procedures, we broke the original process of sending the manuscript 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, Guwen Guzulin requires significantly higher quality standards for publication than ordinary 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 selection of paper to the repeated revisions of the cover and binding, we strictly adhere to the of the municipal leadership to treat the publication of Guzulin as a landmark cultural project of Shanghai. Because Guzulin involves highly specialized knowledge, ordinary editors cannot handle it, and ordinary proofreaders find it difficult to complete. 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 manuscript contains a large number of ancient characters and handwritten scripts. Some of them, due to multiple photocopies, do not produce ideal results, making computer processing very challenging. The process of ancient character encoding, handwritten cursive script recognition, and traditional and simplified character conversion is also prone to errors, significantly increasing the difficulty of editorial processing 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 style and format. However, it is impossible to determine all these details at the beginning. The editorial review and processing process must continuously identify and solve problems, leading to constant adjustments and improvements. Sometimes, it truly requires a domino effect: even a slight change in the content or style of the later sections necessitates revising all related content in the earlier sections. All of this requires not only professional knowledge from our editors and proofreaders but also a strong sense of dedication and responsibility. Our editorial and publishing staff have demonstrated patience and meticulousness to ensure that Guzulin 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 a significant amount of initial funds, and throughout the later stages of publication, we insisted on using the best paper and the best craftsmanship. However, due to existing production technology limitations, after the publication of the volumes, the cover curled in the air-conditioned room due to excessive thickness. We immediately organized personnel to actively communicate with the manufacturer, conduct in-depth research, and redesign the production process, all with the goal of producing a high-quality book that reflects 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 the original manuscript and proofreading of thousands of character entry bags, 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 would inevitably affect the entire book's publication schedule. Editorial, proofreading, and publishing staff have devoted themselves entirely to the work. For proofreading alone, there have been eight rounds, and reviewing one million words of content for Guzulin is undoubtedly much more demanding than reviewing other manuscripts.
V. New Technology. Traditional reference books on ancient character interpretation were compiled using handwritten, cut-and-pasted, and photocopied methods, resulting in slow production cycles and making it difficult for readers to identify the characters. 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 handwritten method that had been followed for many years. We actively developed and applied modern technological achievements with Jieshen Computer Company, adopting computer-generated character typesetting, and built batches 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 batches of ancient character fonts have not only played a significant role in the typesetting of each volume of Guzulin but also provided strong support and guarantees for the future publication and printing of other similar works.
This book is the third volume of Guwen Guzulin, a comprehensive reference book on ancient characters. It includes annotations on ancient Chinese characters from historical Chinese character monographs, arranged in multiple fonts for easy reference and review. The book is rich in content and has high academic and reference value, making it an indispensable tool for ancient character researchers, literary workers, and enthusiasts.