Great Dictionary of the Chinese Language

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1995-11-01
Features: A Milestone in the History of Chinese Lexicography
The Great Chinese Dictionary is one of the finest Chinese dictionaries in the world.
It is the first large-scale, standardized historical-Chinese dictionary that incorporates both ancient and modern terms, emphasizing their origins.
The complete set consists of 12 volumes and an Appendix·Index volume.
The Great Chinese Dictionary contains 12 main volumes, along with an Appendix·Index volume, comprising over 375,000 entries, including over 22,000 single-character terms. The entire work is approximately 50 million characters in length. Its scope covers ancient and modern terms, idioms, allusions, as well as general vocabulary and common encyclopedic terms from various ancient and modern works. It is a comprehensive collection of both ancient and modern Chinese terms, being the most extensive and largest in its category among Chinese dictionaries.
Single-character entries are arranged by radical, with words linked to characters. The font incorporates both traditional and simplified characters, with ancient pronunciations noted using the Fanqie system, while modern pronunciations are rendered using Pinyin.
The work is comprehensive in content, with complete and detailed definitions, abundant illustrative citations, and a historical approach that prioritizes origins. It cites more sources than any other Chinese dictionary, making it possible to find entries for words that may be absent in other dictionaries.
The Great Chinese Dictionary is rigorously curated, with precise and appropriate definitions, and citations that are accurate and well-founded, possessing high academic value. It corrects the shortcomings of some Chinese dictionaries—such as overly liberal word selection, inaccurate definitions, errors in citations, and a lack of sources—presenting a refreshing and enlightening perspective.
Furthermore, The Great Chinese Dictionary, by compiling tens of thousands of ancient and modern terms from vast amounts of literature and organizing them in a systematic manner with detailed explanations, itself becomes a highly valuable repository of information. It holds significant importance for the study of Chinese, the exploration of literature and history, and the expansion of the Han Chinese influence in world culture.