Four-Body Great Dictionary - (Set of Two Volumes)

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1980-06-01
Features: A four-style dictionary, edited and published by Shanghai Saoyeshanfang in 1926. The main editor was Chen Hesiang, with three assistants named Lou, Wu, and Wei. The entire book is arranged according to the radicals and order of characters in the Kangxi Dictionary. Each character is listed in the order of regular (true, regular script), cursive, clerical, and seal scripts, showcasing the various types of characters collected. For example, the character "" first appears in its common form, followed by annotations on its pronunciation, meaning, and other different definitions. Below that are the various styles of characters collected from stone inscriptions and calligraphy. They are arranged in the order of regular, cursive, clerical, and seal scripts. Each character is annotated with its publication date. Starting from recognizable regular characters, the book gradually progresses to ancient forms. The front of the book includes a preface, an introduction, a radical index, and a difficult character index. The history of Chinese character transmission is very long. What is known for sure is that from the Shang Dynasty, there were rich and diverse characters inscribed or carved on oracle bones. Through long historical evolution, various scripts such as seal, clerical, cursive, and regular scripts emerged, and each script has several types with different styles. Later readers often find it difficult to recognize this rich variety of "variant characters," at least not easily mastering them comprehensively. This four-style dictionary, although not precise or exhaustive, is relatively convenient for general understanding and application of various scripts. The book was originally published in two versions (large and small), both of which have long been out of print. To facilitate reference and research, the large version is now reprinted from the original prints.