Student's Dictionary of Ancient Chinese (Revised Edition)

Author: Zhang Yuzhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-06-01
Features: This dictionary was published in 1988 and was compiled at the invitation of Shanghai Ci Shu Press. The compilers are all language teachers. They believe that the main readers of this dictionary are middle school students, as well as college students, primary and secondary school teachers, and general readers who may need to refer to classical Chinese texts when reading. Based on our understanding of students' actual needs, we strive to make the entries accurate, relevant, and practical: the single characters and compound words, idioms included are mainly selected from classical Chinese texts and ancient poems and songs in middle school language textbooks after the founding of the People's Republic of China, while also taking into account common classical masterpieces. According to the needs of reading simple classical Chinese texts, a certain number of relevant specialized entries are included. The meanings listed focus on the common, extended, and metaphorical meanings found in middle school classical Chinese textbooks and general classical Chinese texts, while rarely used meanings and those unique to ancient opera and fiction are generally excluded. The definitions strive to be accurate, easy to understand, and practical. For some entries where the meaning needs clarification, a [Note] is added after the definition. Classical Chinese function words are labeled with their part of speech based on actual usage. Examples are provided to aid in interpretation, and they are preferably selected from middle school classical Chinese textbooks and common masterpieces, rather than the earliest ancient and obscure references. For better understanding of the examples and mastery of usage, brief annotations are added to certain difficult parts of the examples, following the quoted examples. The appendices, "An Introduction to Basic Knowledge of Classical Chinese" and "An Introduction to Some Works and Authors," are specifically written for middle school students and serve as references for self-study of classical Chinese.