New Century Classical Chinese Dictionary - Youth Edition

Author: Yi Wenong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-05-01
Features: This is a reference book primarily designed to explain the meanings of classical Chinese terms in current university and secondary school Chinese textbooks. Based on the principle of "using the old for the new," it was compiled to meet the needs of teaching and learning classical Chinese in university and secondary school Chinese curricula, as well as for reference purposes. It provides readers with basic knowledge of classical Chinese terms, historical artifacts, and rituals. Therefore, this book is mainly intended for university and secondary school students and readers with a secondary education level who are reading classical Chinese. It can also serve as a reference book for teachers in primary, secondary, and university levels for lesson preparation and for students' self-study. The book contains over 3,400 entries. Simplified characters are used for the head characters of simplified words, while the corresponding traditional characters and common variant characters are enclosed in parentheses. Polyphonic entries are collected at the end of individual entries. Many ancient historical allusions and official titles appearing in university and secondary school textbooks and reference materials are included in polyphonic entries. Head characters are arranged in the order of Pinyin letters, with homophonic characters marked. Each term is explained in terms of part of speech, definition, and example sentences. The part of speech is determined based on the term's definition and its grammatical function in a sentence. For controversial parts of speech, the book first states its own view, then lists differing opinions, using "Some consider it as × term" to indicate. The book strives to include all definitions appearing in university and secondary school classical Chinese textbooks. Each definition is accompanied by one or two example sentences, most of which are taken from university and secondary school classical Chinese textbooks. In line with practicality, the book aims to provide precise and comprehensive definitions. For terms with multiple parts of speech, they are categorized as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.; for terms with multiple meanings, they are itemized as ①, ②, ③, ④, etc.; and for subcategories within a meaning, they are itemized as a, b, c, d, etc. The definitions under the term are classified and grouped by part of speech. This arrangement facilitates review, consolidation, and memorization. The first item after grouping is generally the original or common meaning of the term. For terms whose original meanings are obsolete or rare, or for which there is no consensus or significant disagreement, the book does not mention the original meaning. The derived meaning, metaphorical meaning, and borrowed meaning are listed afterward. Definitions are primarily based on those used in textbooks, with some additional meanings not found in textbooks included to provide a more thorough explanation of the terms' meanings in context. Example sentences are omitted for brevity. For polyphonic entries with multiple meanings, only example sentences appearing in textbooks are listed. Definitions marked with "later meaning" indicate meanings that emerged after the Wei and Jin dynasties. The book places great emphasis on the collocation of terms. It includes as many collocations of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and numerals as possible from university and secondary school classical Chinese textbooks. Therefore, the book not only contains numerous collocations of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and numerals but also provides example sentences of passive, causative, permissive, dative, and reciprocal collocations in special verb-object relationships. It also includes some example sentences of compound verbs, conditional verbs, and inceptive verbs, aiming to provide strong evidence for classical Chinese teaching and research. Terms with multiple meanings, regardless of whether they have the same pronunciation, are listed under the same head character. Pinyin is used under the head character. For terms with multiple pronunciations, the pronunciation is noted before each meaning; if no pronunciation is noted, it means these meanings are pronounced according to the Pinyin under the head character. At the end of some example sentences, the pronunciation of rare characters and explanations of difficult terms are provided. For homophonic characters and archaic characters, homophonic characters (borrowed characters with existing counterparts) are marked as "A passes to B," e.g., in "The Banquet at Hongmen," "" passes to "." Archaic characters are marked as "same as X, read X," e.g., in "Bian Que Meets Cai Huan Gong," "'' is the same as ',' read yue." The book primarily aims to explain term meanings. To enhance understanding, translations are provided for a few example sentences where there are significant differences in ancient and modern grammar or where components are omitted. The translations are literal. While this may make some parts sound awkward, it helps ensure a thorough understanding of the original meanings of the terms, achieving "word-by-word mastery," and thus no more flexible translation method has been adopted. At the beginning of the main text, there are a Pinyin index and a radical index to help readers look up characters by sound or form. The explanations of term meanings and pronunciations in this book are mainly based on "Shuowen Jiezi," "Shuowen Jiezi Duan Zhu," "Ci Yuan," "Ci Hai," and "Modern Chinese Dictionary." Some linguistic reference books were also consulted, and new research findings from academia were incorporated. The authors of these books are deeply grateful. This is a reference book primarily designed to explain the meanings of classical Chinese terms in current university and secondary school Chinese textbooks. Based on the principle of "using the old for the new," it was compiled to meet the needs of teaching and learning classical Chinese in university and secondary school Chinese curricula, as well as for reference purposes. It provides readers with basic knowledge of classical Chinese terms, historical artifacts, and rituals. Therefore, this book is mainly intended for university and secondary school students and readers with a secondary education level who are reading classical Chinese. It can also serve as a reference book for teachers in primary, secondary, and university levels for lesson preparation and for students' self-study. The book contains over 3,400 entries. Simplified characters are used for the head characters of simplified words, while the corresponding traditional characters and common variant characters are enclosed in parentheses. Polyphonic entries are collected at the end of individual entries. Many ancient historical allusions and official titles appearing in university and secondary school textbooks and reference materials are included in polyphonic entries. Head characters are arranged in the order of Pinyin letters, with homophonic characters marked. Each term is explained in terms of part of speech, definition, and example sentences. The part of speech is determined based on the term's definition and its grammatical function in a sentence. For controversial parts of speech, the book first states its own view, then lists differing opinions, using "Some consider it as × term" to indicate. The book strives to include all definitions appearing in university and secondary school classical Chinese textbooks. Each definition is accompanied by one or two example sentences, most of which are taken from university and secondary school classical Chinese textbooks. In line with practicality, the book aims to provide precise and comprehensive definitions. For terms with multiple parts of speech, they are categorized as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.; for terms with multiple meanings, they are itemized as ①, ②, ③, ④, etc.; and for subcategories within a meaning, they are itemized as a, b, c, d, etc. The definitions under the term are classified and grouped by part of speech. This arrangement facilitates review, consolidation, and memorization. The first item after grouping is generally the original or common meaning of the term. For terms whose original meanings are obsolete or rare, or for which there is no consensus or significant disagreement, the book does not mention the original meaning. The derived meaning, metaphorical meaning, and borrowed meaning are listed afterward. Definitions are primarily based on those used in textbooks, with some additional meanings not found in textbooks included to provide a more thorough explanation of the terms' meanings in context. Example sentences are omitted for brevity. For polyphonic entries with multiple meanings, only example sentences appearing in textbooks are listed. Definitions marked with "later meaning" indicate meanings that emerged after the Wei and Jin dynasties. The book places great emphasis on the collocation of terms. It includes as many collocations of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and numerals as possible from university and secondary school classical Chinese textbooks. Therefore, the book not only contains numerous collocations of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and numerals but also provides example sentences of passive, causative, permissive, dative, and reciprocal collocations in special verb-object relationships. It also includes some example sentences of compound verbs, conditional verbs, and inceptive verbs, aiming to provide strong evidence for classical Chinese teaching and research. Terms with multiple meanings, regardless of whether they have the same pronunciation, are listed under the same head character. Pinyin is used under the head character. For terms with multiple pronunciations, the pronunciation is noted before each meaning; if no pronunciation is noted, it means these meanings are pronounced according to the Pinyin under the head character. At the end of some example sentences, the pronunciation of rare characters and explanations of difficult terms are provided. For homophonic characters and archaic characters, homophonic characters (borrowed characters with existing counterparts) are marked as "A passes to B," e.g., in "The Banquet at Hongmen," "" passes to "." Archaic characters are marked as "same as X, read X," e.g., in "Bian Que Meets Cai Huan Gong," "'' is the same as ',' read yue." The book primarily aims to explain term meanings. To enhance understanding, translations are provided for a few example sentences where there are significant differences in ancient and modern grammar or where components are omitted. The translations are literal. While this may make some parts sound awkward, it helps ensure a thorough understanding of the original meanings of the terms, achieving "word-by-word mastery," and thus no more flexible translation method has been adopted. At the beginning of the main text, there are a Pinyin index and a radical index to help readers look up characters by sound or form. The explanations of term meanings and pronunciations in this book are mainly based on "Shuowen Jiezi," "Shuowen Jiezi Duan Zhu," "Ci Yuan," "Ci Hai," and "Modern Chinese Dictionary." Some linguistic reference books were also consulted, and new research findings from academia were incorporated. The authors of these books are deeply grateful.