A Dictionary of Chinese Allusions: First Edition (Cihai Edition)

Author: Yu Wanli
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: This dictionary primarily includes historical allusions, with a limited selection of linguistic allusions as well. It contains nearly eight hundred entries of allusions, accompanied by over two thousand variant forms. Each allusion is treated as a headword based on its most common or representative form, while other variant forms are explained in the definitions and indexed, without being listed separately. Each entry includes the following: the name of the allusion, Pinyin pronunciation, annotations for obscure or difficult characters, the origin and development of the allusion's story, the source of the allusion, its meaning, and other variant forms. The name of the allusion is annotated with Pinyin, and the pronunciation uses single-character Mandarin phonetics, without indicating tone changes or linking variations. Annotations for obscure or difficult characters in the allusion's name are placed after the pronunciation. Obscure or difficult characters unavoidable in the definition are either noted in parentheses within the text or explained after the source. Based on an accurate understanding of the allusion's textual sources, the dictionary narrates the origin and development of the allusion's story in concise language, providing relevant background information when necessary, without emphasizing a word-for-word translation. When explaining the meaning of the allusion, it generally focuses on its common or more apparent meanings. Variant forms are selected based on their common usage and fixed forms. The main body of the dictionary is arranged in Pinyin order. At the end of the book, there is an index of allusion names and a Pinyin index of all variant forms.