Great Dictionary of Chinese (Condensed Edition)

Author: Editorial Committee of the Great Chinese Dictionary
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1992-12-01
Features: This book is a condensed version of the eight-volume Great Chinese Dictionary. The Great Chinese Dictionary is a large-scale linguistic reference book primarily focused on explaining the form, sound, and meaning of Chinese characters. It is a compilation of single characters in regular script, totaling approximately 56,000 entries. Building upon the achievements of predecessors, it pays attention to incorporating the latest findings of contemporary scholars. It emphasizes the close coordination of form, sound, and meaning, striving to accurately reflect the historical development of Chinese characters in their form, sound, and meaning.
In terms of form, it includes representative oracle bone script, bronze script, small seal script, and clerical script forms under each regular script entry to illustrate the evolution of character shapes, along with brief explanations of structural changes. Regarding sound, it provides modern pronunciations for the regular script characters it includes and lists Middle Chinese phonetic values (fǎnqiè) while noting ancient rhyme categories. In terms of meaning, it not only focuses on common meanings but also examines the meanings of obscure meanings of common characters, and appropriately includes the meanings of components in compound words.