Ancient Texts Dictionary, Volume 8

Author: Li Pu, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-12-01
Features: The Guwen Guzulin (Comprehensive Dictionary of Ancient Characters) is the largest-scale ancient character glossary and reference toolbook in China to date. It "collects ten thousand volumes into one, gathers all opinions into one compilation," compiling large-scale tools that encompass the forms and research achievements of ancient characters to date. The glossed materials cover eight types of unearthed ancient characters (including oracle bone script, bronze inscriptions, Warring States and Qin-Han seal inscriptions, Warring States coin inscriptions, pottery inscriptions, Warring States and Qin-Han bamboo slips, silk manuscripts, stone inscriptions, and Spring and Autumn/Warring States stone alliances) and transmitted ancient characters (including Small Seal Script from Shuowen Jiezi, variant forms, ancient script, Zou script, rare characters, ancient script from San Ti Shi Jing, ancient script from Han Jian, and ancient script from Guwen Si Sheng Yun). It nearly comprehensively includes all categories of ancient characters. There are approximately ten thousand character entries, with a total of about ten million words of glossed materials, representing the culmination of a century of research achievements in ancient character interpretation. Its publication will provide an indispensable toolbook 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 Guwen Guzulin has been a challenge for our publishing house and editorial staff. Because Guwen Guzulin has the characteristics of a 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 about ten million words, making it the largest-scale, most comprehensive, and most complete ancient character glossary and reference toolbook 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, collecting all authentic and reliable interpretations of ancient characters with personal insights. It particularly emphasizes the inclusion of new materials and achievements obtained in the more than half-century since the publication of Ding Fubao's Shuowen Jiezi Guzulin in the 1920s. Unlike specialized toolbooks that focus solely on a particular category of characters, 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 volumes already published, the original manuscripts alone fill more than a dozen large paper boxes, divided into thousands of data bags. Each time we send out manuscripts, we use a small van to transport them back and forth. Therefore, this is not only an extremely demanding mental effort 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 of original manuscripts having to go 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 manuscripts.
II. Significant Human Resources Investment. As a large-scale cultural heritage project, Guwen Guzulin requires publishing quality far higher than that of general publications. From the layout design to the selection of fonts and sizes, even down to the rationalization of character spacing and line spacing, and from the paper selection to the repeated revisions of the cover and binding, we strictly followed the from municipal leaders to treat the publication of Guzulin as a landmark cultural project for Shanghai.
Because Guzulin involves highly specialized knowledge, general editors and proofreaders are unable to handle it. Therefore, we mobilized experienced and specialized editorial staff to organize dedicated proofreading personnel. They intervened in the editorial committee's work in advance to familiarize themselves with the content and procedures, participating actively in the process to ensure its completion.
III. High Difficulty. The original manuscripts contain a large number of ancient characters and handwritten scripts. Due to multiple photocopies, some are of poor quality, 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. However, it is impossible to determine all these details at the beginning. During the editing and proofreading process, we must continuously identify and solve problems, making adjustments and improvements. Sometimes, a small change in the later content or format requires us to go back and revise all related content from the beginning. 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 been patient and meticulous 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 capital, and throughout the publishing process, we have insisted on using the best paper and the most advanced techniques. 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 was to reflect Shanghai's academic standards in the content and publishing standards in the 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 original manuscripts and proofs, constantly circulating between the editorial committee, the publishing house, and the computer company. Given the scale and tight deadlines, any minor error in a character entry bag would inevitably affect the entire book's publishing schedule. Editorial, proofreading, and publishing staff have devoted themselves fully to the work. For proofreading alone, there have been eight rounds, and reviewing a million words of content for Guzulin is undoubtedly far more demanding than reviewing other manuscripts.
V. New Technology. Traditional ancient character glossary and reference toolbooks were compiled using handwritten, cut-and-pasted, and photocopied methods, resulting in slow production cycles and making it difficult for readers to identify 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 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 Guzulin but also provided strong support and guarantees for the publishing and printing of other similar works in the future.