381:). Importantly, they also differed in their content and organization. A group of scholars, which came to be called the Old Text school, emerged and advocated for the use of this more ancient version. The New Text school meanwhile preferred the more recent versions. Since Han jurisprudence was based on the classics, the interpretation of even a single character could lead to concrete differences in legal opinions. The great variation in interpretations greatly troubled Xu. He was familiar with both schools: Jia Kui was a respected Old Text scholar, but Xu's official work required familiarity with the New Text editions. In an attempt to eliminate discrepancies between interpretations, Xu authored
434:
correct mistaken concepts, for the benefit of scholars and true interpretation of the spirit of language." Intended to be a comprehensive work, it encompasses 15 chapters and over 9,000 small seal script entries, and has a preface and a postface. Xu intentionally listed headwords in pre-Qin characters in order to provide their earliest possible forms, and thereby allow the most faithful interpretation. It is among the first character dictionaries which examined the evolution of characters in detail, and streamlined the "six category" approach to analyzing
Chinese writing. It also created a system of 540 semantically organized radicals.
446:, who was inspired by footprints to create a system of signs that refer to the natural world. These original graphs could then be combined to make meaningful characters with referents distinct from their component graphs. This was important for Xu Shen, who emphasized the productivity, even fertility, of Chinese writing. Despite the novel meanings of compound characters, Xu Shen believed that true understanding of composite characters was contingent on an understanding of their components. Providing clear explanation of these relationships lay at the heart of his motivation.
450:
744:, both of which were unknown at the time, also to Xu Shen. Karlgren, for example, disputes Xu Shen's interpretation of 巠 (jing) as depicting a subterranean water channel. Referring to the bronze script, he proposes a reading linked to weaving. Furthermore, Xu Shen does not account for historical phonological change between the earliest days of Chinese writing and his own era. This results in inaccurate sound analyses.
409:
391:), a commentary, now lost, that incorporated interpretations from both the New and Old Text schools. Xu picked the readings that were best to his mind, regardless of school. Ultimately though, Xu decided that only a rigorous work on the development and history of each character could standardize the interpretation of the classics.
599:, and ordered them from least to greatest complexity. Each radical then headed its own group, which in turn subsumed all composite characters which incorporated the specific radical. The total number of 540 has a cosmological weight, as it can be derived from the product of 6, 9, and 10. 6 and 9 are the numbers of
433:
has no standard
English translation, and is sometimes rendered: "Explain the Graphs and Unravel the Written Words" or "Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters." The uniting principle behind each part of the massive project was, as Xu Shen writes in his postface, "to establish defined categories,
300:, as well as the first to organize entries by radical. This work continues to provide scholars with information on the development and historical usage of Chinese characters. Xu Shen completed his first draft in 100 CE but, waited until 121 CE before having his son present the work to the
357:'s elevation Confucianism to the state philosophy. Because knowledge of the Confucian canon was the primary qualification for government office, there was a large upswing in the rate of copying. These new additions were written in a standardized Han dynasty script. During the reign of
332:(30–101 CE). Under Jia, he established himself as a master in his own right and enjoyed a positive reputation. This education allowed him to hold several government offices at the prefecture level, and ultimately rise to a post in the royal library. Before undertaking the
38:
479:
are the difference between non-compound and compound characters. More recently, other scholars, such as Françoise Bottéro (2002), have argued that the addition of a specifically phonetic element (and thus not simply compounding) marks the principal difference between
606:
Within the dictionary itself, each entry first gives the character's meaning, and alternate orthographies. It also accounts for a character's meaning, occasionally pronunciation, and cites examples of its use in the classical texts.
465:(字 characters), indeed these contrasting categories of graphs receive separate mention in the work's title. Even today, there is disagreement over the exact definitions of the two terms. The Song dynasty scholar Zheng Qiao (
577:), which essentially indicates one character whose meaning has been broadened to contain multiple definitions. This is seen in bifurcated meanings and pronunciations of
660:(713–741) prepared an edition, though this version is lost as well. The oldest surviving editions go back to a pair of brothers, Xu Xuan (
1180:
1170:
1117:
893:
1200:
625:(c. 220 BCE); ancient characters were collected from the texts found in Confucius's mansion, and Zhou characters were taken from the
442:
In the postface, Xu gives a brief account of the history of writing. According to legend, Chinese characters were first invented by
353:
schools of
Confucian thought. These rival camps grew out of the wide proliferation of Confucian texts, which was brought on by the
977:
560:), which arose from a divergence of one character into two separate characters still linked in sound and meaning, such as 老 (
1185:
1175:
703:
Xu Shen's work also provides a valuable resource for linguistic research. Duan Yucai based much of his research on the
615:
Xu Shen had to rely on a large body of sources to collect the thousands of characters and variants that appear in the
1126:
855:
803:
551:), which unite two semantic elements. 明, for example contains the sun and the moon, and carries the meaning 'bright'.
1205:
1190:
1093:
1021:
753:
736:
A number of Xu Shen's character analyses are erroneous, as the seal script differs considerably from the older
336:, he was already a prolific writer. Although lost, one of his better known early works was a commentary on the
210:
102:
1195:
121:
596:
1210:
488:. From this original binary contrast, Xu Shen formally delineated for the first time the six categories (
453:
A leaf from the
Shuowen Jiezi. The large character on the upper left is written in the ancient Zhou form.
642:
has often been the subject of commentary and study. The earliest reported research was conducted in the
603:, and 10 a number signifying completion. This number symbolizes the exhaustive scope of the dictionary.
1215:
728:, Xu Shen has towered over the field of Chinese lexicography, and his influence is still felt today.
1042:
Bottéro, Françoise (2002). "Revisiting the wén 文 and the zì 字: The Great
Chinese Character Hoax".
922:
Xu, Guozhang (1990). "Language and society as seen by Xu Shen, an ancient
Chinese lexicographer".
530:), which consist of a semantic element and an element indicating pronunciation. The character 汗 (
1085:
1147:(中囯古代语言学史 "A history of ancient Chinese linguistics"). Guangzhou: Guangdong jiaoyu chubanshe.
350:
1077:
368:), however, older manuscripts were discovered in the imperial archives and in the walls of
358:
8:
1165:
369:
286:(25–189 CE). During his own lifetime, Xu was recognized as a preeminent scholar of the
1160:
939:
741:
504:), whose forms are iconic without being based on concrete objects. Examples include 上 (
297:
246:
238:
1122:
1089:
1078:
1017:
973:
943:
851:
799:
737:
632:
354:
301:
194:
186:
931:
724:
Given the number of dictionaries and philological works that draw heavily from the
323:
149:
1112:
170:
692:, and produced the authoritative version and commentary still used today, the
314:
Xu was born about 58 CE in the
Zhaoling district of Run'an prefecture (modern
1154:
1130:
403:
292:
287:
935:
685:
653:
600:
156:
673:
657:
643:
627:
621:
283:
279:
69:
419:
Xu Shen's desire to create an exhaustive reference work resulted in the
880:
681:
131:
128:
112:
109:
346:
338:
203:
449:
871:
345:
Xu Shen's life and work were shaped by the fierce division between
224:
372:. These older texts were written in a pre-Qin, small seal script (
443:
676:(581–618), and their work ensured the long-term survival of the
595:
To organize the thousands of headwords, Xu Shen established 540
342:, an important sociopolitical work from the second century BCE.
972:. Vol. 2. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
902:
319:
315:
1065:. Stockholm: Museum of Far Easter Antiquities. p. 219.
408:
37:
243:
229:
215:
534:
sweat), for example. contains the phonetic marker 干 (
457:
Central to Xu Shen's thought is the contrast between
191:
175:
161:
652:), though this work has not survived. Later in the
619:. Many small script characters were taken from the
508:) and 下 (xià), indicating up and down respectively.
412:A page from a Northern Song dynasty edition of the
924:International Journal of the Sociology of Language
296:, which was the first comprehensive dictionary of
1044:Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities
1152:
1084:. New York: Columbia University Press. pp.
688:(1644–1912) dedicated his life to studying the
587:), but came to have the second meaning 'long' (
1016:. Albany: State University of New York Press.
708:
667:
661:
647:
578:
572:
555:
546:
525:
512:
499:
489:
466:
424:
386:
376:
327:
126:
107:
1118:The Columbia History of Chinese Literature
1080:The Columbia History of Chinese Literature
471:) first presented the interpretation that
36:
796:Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography
1060:
845:
717:說文訓定生 was written as a companion to the
610:
448:
407:
1121:. New York: Columbia University Press.
1041:
886:
864:
383:Different Meanings of the Five Classics
1153:
707:, and the philologist Zhu Junsheng's (
245:
193:
1011:
841:
839:
837:
835:
793:
789:
1075:
1037:
1035:
1033:
1014:Writing and Authority in Early China
1007:
1005:
1003:
1001:
999:
997:
995:
993:
991:
989:
967:
963:
961:
959:
957:
955:
953:
917:
915:
913:
911:
833:
831:
829:
827:
825:
823:
821:
819:
817:
815:
787:
785:
783:
781:
779:
777:
775:
773:
771:
769:
437:
394:
16:Chinese philologist (c. 58 – 148 CE)
970:The History of Chinese Civilization
583:, which originally meant 'leader' (
538:shield), and the semantic marker 氵(
13:
1137:
921:
14:
1227:
1181:2nd-century Chinese calligraphers
1171:1st-century Chinese calligraphers
1030:
986:
950:
908:
846:Yong, Heming; Peng, Jing (2008).
812:
766:
1201:Han dynasty government officials
282:, politician, and writer of the
1069:
363:
244:
230:
216:
1106:
1054:
754:List of Shuowen Jiezi radicals
709:
668:
662:
648:
579:
573:
556:
547:
526:
513:
500:
490:
467:
425:
387:
328:
278:) was a Chinese calligrapher,
192:
176:
162:
127:
108:
1:
759:
680:. The well-known philologist
511:Form Imaging or Pictographs (
268:
1012:Lewis, Mark Edwards (1999).
731:
7:
1186:2nd-century Chinese writers
1176:1st-century Chinese writers
1145:Zhongguo gudai yuyanxue shi
1061:Karlgren, Bernhard (1957).
968:Yuan, Xingpei, ed. (2012).
850:. Oxford University Press.
747:
698:the Annotated Shuowen Jiezi
366: 33 – 7 BCE
322:). He was a student of the
10:
1232:
1076:Mair, Victor, ed. (2001).
794:Brown, Kerry, ed. (2014).
715:Explanatory Book of Sounds
631:(c. 578 BCE, the reign of
401:
370:Confucius's family mansion
672:). The pair lived in the
494:) of Chinese characters.
377:
258:
237:
223:
209:
202:
185:
169:
155:
148:
143:
139:
120:
101:
97:
92:
76:
64:
56:
44:
35:
28:
21:
798:. Berkshire Publishing.
498:Indicators of Function (
103:Traditional Chinese
1143:He Jiuying 何九盈 (1995).
1063:Grammata Serica Recensa
936:10.1515/ijsl.1990.81.51
684:(段玉裁 1735–1815) of the
628:Historian Zhou's Primer
554:Reciprocally Glossing (
309:
290:. He was the author of
122:Simplified Chinese
1206:Politicians from Luohe
1191:Chinese lexicographers
454:
416:
60:148 CE (aged 89 or 90)
713:) phonological study
611:Models and influences
452:
411:
1196:Chinese philologists
848:Chinese Lexicography
571:Loaning Characters (
521:), meaning mountain.
359:Emperor Cheng of Han
72:, politician, writer
740:and the even older
545:Combining Meaning (
284:Eastern Han dynasty
1211:Writers from Luohe
742:oracle bone script
455:
417:
298:Chinese characters
276: 148 CE
1216:Ancient linguists
979:978-1-107-01306-3
897:entry "Xu Shen" (
875:entry "Xu Shen" (
738:bronzeware script
694:Shuowen Jiezi Zhu
461:(文 patterns) and
438:Linguistic theory
355:Emperor Wu of Han
302:Emperor An of Han
262:
261:
254:
253:
211:Yale Romanization
150:Standard Mandarin
88:
87:
1223:
1100:
1099:
1083:
1073:
1067:
1066:
1058:
1052:
1051:
1039:
1028:
1027:
1009:
984:
983:
965:
948:
947:
919:
906:
890:
884:
868:
862:
861:
843:
810:
809:
791:
712:
711:
671:
670:
665:
664:
651:
650:
582:
581:
576:
575:
559:
558:
550:
549:
529:
528:
524:Form and Sound (
516:
515:
503:
502:
493:
492:
470:
469:
428:
427:
390:
389:
380:
379:
367:
365:
331:
330:
324:scholar-official
277:
273:
270:
250:
249:
248:
233:
232:
219:
218:
198:
197:
196:
181:
180:
179:
165:
164:
141:
140:
135:
134:
116:
115:
90:
89:
79:
40:
31:
19:
18:
1231:
1230:
1226:
1225:
1224:
1222:
1221:
1220:
1151:
1150:
1140:
1138:Further reading
1113:Mair, Victor H.
1109:
1104:
1103:
1096:
1074:
1070:
1059:
1055:
1040:
1031:
1024:
1010:
987:
980:
966:
951:
920:
909:
891:
887:
869:
865:
858:
844:
813:
806:
792:
767:
762:
750:
734:
613:
440:
406:
400:
362:
312:
275:
271:
177:
77:
52:
49:
29:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1229:
1219:
1218:
1213:
1208:
1203:
1198:
1193:
1188:
1183:
1178:
1173:
1168:
1163:
1149:
1148:
1139:
1136:
1135:
1134:
1115:(ed.) (2001).
1108:
1105:
1102:
1101:
1094:
1068:
1053:
1029:
1022:
985:
978:
949:
907:
901:in Japanese).
885:
879:in Japanese).
863:
856:
811:
804:
764:
763:
761:
758:
757:
756:
749:
746:
733:
730:
666:) and Xu Kai (
612:
609:
593:
592:
569:
552:
543:
522:
517:), such as 山 (
509:
439:
436:
402:Main article:
399:
393:
311:
308:
260:
259:
256:
255:
252:
251:
241:
235:
234:
227:
221:
220:
213:
207:
206:
204:Yue: Cantonese
200:
199:
189:
183:
182:
173:
167:
166:
159:
153:
152:
146:
145:
144:Transcriptions
137:
136:
124:
118:
117:
105:
99:
98:
95:
94:
86:
85:
80:
74:
73:
68:Calligrapher,
66:
62:
61:
58:
54:
53:
50:
46:
42:
41:
33:
32:
26:
25:
22:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1228:
1217:
1214:
1212:
1209:
1207:
1204:
1202:
1199:
1197:
1194:
1192:
1189:
1187:
1184:
1182:
1179:
1177:
1174:
1172:
1169:
1167:
1164:
1162:
1159:
1158:
1156:
1146:
1142:
1141:
1132:
1131:Amazon Kindle
1128:
1127:0-231-10984-9
1124:
1120:
1119:
1114:
1111:
1110:
1097:
1091:
1087:
1082:
1081:
1072:
1064:
1057:
1049:
1045:
1038:
1036:
1034:
1025:
1019:
1015:
1008:
1006:
1004:
1002:
1000:
998:
996:
994:
992:
990:
981:
975:
971:
964:
962:
960:
958:
956:
954:
945:
941:
937:
933:
930:(81): 51–62.
929:
925:
918:
916:
914:
912:
904:
900:
896:
895:
889:
882:
878:
874:
873:
867:
859:
857:9780199539826
853:
849:
842:
840:
838:
836:
834:
832:
830:
828:
826:
824:
822:
820:
818:
816:
807:
805:9781933782669
801:
797:
790:
788:
786:
784:
782:
780:
778:
776:
774:
772:
770:
765:
755:
752:
751:
745:
743:
739:
729:
727:
722:
720:
716:
706:
701:
699:
695:
691:
687:
683:
679:
675:
659:
655:
646:by Yu Yanmo (
645:
641:
636:
634:
630:
629:
624:
623:
618:
608:
604:
602:
598:
590:
586:
570:
567:
563:
553:
544:
541:
537:
533:
523:
520:
510:
507:
497:
496:
495:
487:
483:
478:
474:
464:
460:
451:
447:
445:
435:
432:
422:
421:Shuowen Jiezi
415:
414:Shuowen Jiezi
410:
405:
404:Shuowen Jiezi
398:
397:Shuowen Jiezi
392:
384:
375:
371:
360:
356:
352:
348:
343:
341:
340:
335:
325:
321:
317:
307:
305:
303:
299:
295:
294:
293:Shuowen Jiezi
289:
288:Five Classics
285:
281:
266:
257:
247:
242:
240:
236:
228:
226:
222:
214:
212:
208:
205:
201:
195:
190:
188:
184:
174:
172:
168:
160:
158:
154:
151:
147:
142:
138:
133:
130:
125:
123:
119:
114:
111:
106:
104:
100:
96:
91:
84:
83:Shuowen Jiezi
81:
75:
71:
67:
65:Occupation(s)
63:
59:
55:
47:
43:
39:
34:
27:
20:
1144:
1116:
1079:
1071:
1062:
1056:
1047:
1043:
1013:
969:
927:
923:
898:
892:
888:
876:
870:
866:
847:
795:
735:
725:
723:
718:
714:
704:
702:
697:
693:
689:
686:Qing dynasty
677:
654:Tang dynasty
639:
637:
626:
620:
616:
614:
605:
601:Yin and Yang
594:
588:
584:
565:
561:
539:
535:
531:
518:
505:
485:
481:
476:
472:
462:
458:
456:
441:
430:
420:
418:
413:
396:
382:
373:
344:
337:
333:
313:
306:
291:
264:
263:
157:Hanyu Pinyin
82:
78:Notable work
51:Henan, China
1107:Cited works
674:Sui dynasty
658:Li Yangbing
656:(618–907),
644:Sui dynasty
622:Cangjiepian
280:philologist
70:philologist
1166:147 deaths
1155:Categories
1095:0231109849
1023:0791441148
881:Shogakukan
760:References
682:Duan Yucai
274: – c.
231:Heoi2 San6
171:Wade–Giles
1161:58 births
1133:edition.)
944:146757568
732:Criticism
633:King Xuan
564:) and 考 (
374:xiaozhuan
339:Huainanzi
272: 58
217:Héui Sahn
1050:: 14–33.
899:Kyo Shin
894:Kanjigen
877:Kyo Shin
872:Daijisen
748:See also
597:radicals
351:New Text
347:Old Text
326:Jia Kui
225:Jyutping
178:Hsü Shen
905:, 2006.
726:Shuowen
719:Shuowen
705:Shuowen
696:說文解字註 (
690:Shuowen
678:Shuowen
640:Shuowen
617:Shuowen
542:water).
444:Cangjie
431:Shuowen
429:). The
334:Shuowen
265:Xu Shen
163:Xǔ Shèn
93:Xu Shen
23:Xu Shen
1125:
1092:
1020:
976:
942:
903:Gakken
854:
802:
1088:-46.
940:S2CID
589:cháng
585:zhăng
506:shàng
320:Henan
316:Luohe
48:58 CE
1123:ISBN
1090:ISBN
1018:ISBN
974:ISBN
928:1990
852:ISBN
800:ISBN
638:The
540:shuĭ
519:shān
484:and
475:and
426:說文解字
395:The
388:五經異義
349:and
310:Life
57:Died
45:Born
1129:. (
932:doi
710:朱駿聲
700:).
649:庾儼默
635:).
574:假借鑑
566:kǎo
562:lăo
536:gān
532:hàn
482:wen
473:wen
459:wen
318:in
239:IPA
187:IPA
1157::
1086:46
1048:74
1046:.
1032:^
988:^
952:^
938:.
926:.
910:^
814:^
768:^
721:.
669:徐鍇
663:徐鉉
591:).
568:).
557:轉註
548:會意
527:形聲
514:象形
501:指事
491:六書
486:zi
477:zi
468:鄭樵
463:zi
378:小篆
364:r.
329:賈逵
304:.
269:c.
30:許慎
1098:.
1026:.
982:.
946:.
934::
883:.
860:.
808:.
580:長
423:(
385:(
361:(
267:(
132:慎
129:许
113:慎
110:許
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
