The ''Zhonghua Da Zidian'' () is an unabridged

Chinese dictionary Chinese dictionaries date back over two millennia to the Han dynasty, which is a significantly longer lexicographical history than any other language. There are hundreds of dictionaries for the Chinese language, and this article discusses some of ...

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

, originally published in 1915 by the

Zhonghua Book Company Zhonghua Book Company (), formerly spelled Chunghwa or Chung-hua Shu-chü, and sometimes translated as Zhonghua Publishing House, are Chinese publishing houses that focuses on the humanities, especially classical Chinese works. Currently it has ...

in Shanghai. The chief editors were Xu Yuan'gao (徐元誥),

Lufei Kui Lufei Kui (, 17 September 1886 – 9 July 1941) was a Chinese educator, essayist, linguist, and publisher. His courtesy name was Bohong (). He founded the influential publisher Zhonghua Book Company, and was an early advocate for simplified Chines ...

(陆费逵), and Ouyang Pucun (歐陽溥存/欧阳溥存). It was based upon the 1716 ''

Kangxi Zidian The ''Kangxi Dictionary'' ( (Compendium of standard characters from the Kangxi period), published in 1716, was the most authoritative dictionary of Chinese characters from the 18th century through the early 20th. The Kangxi Emperor of the Qing d ...

'', and is internally organized using the 214 Kangxi radicals. The 1915 publication contains more than 48,000 entries for individual characters, including many invented in the two centuries since the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', making it the largest character dictionary of its time. Each character entry includes the

fanqie ''Fanqie'' ( zh, t= 反切, p=fǎnqiè) is a method in traditional Chinese lexicography to indicate the pronunciation of a monosyllabic character by using two other characters, one with the same initial consonant as the desired syllable and one ...

spelling from the

Jiyun The ''Jiyun'' (''Chi-yun''; ) is a Chinese rime dictionary published in 1037 during the Song Dynasty. The chief editor Ding Du (丁度) and others expanded and revised the '' Guangyun''. It is possible, according to Teng and Biggerstaff (1971:14 ...

, the modern pronunciation given with a common

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...

, different meanings, classical quotations, and two-character compounds using the character. One strength of the ''Zhonghua'' dictionary is its clear presentation of definitions. Separate definitions are numbered, instead of being run together in a column as was the case with earlier Chinese dictionaries, which is helpful to users because some characters have as many as 40 separate definitions. Although Teng and Biggerstaff acknowledged that the ''Zhonghua Da Zidian'' "is very comprehensive and is very carefully compiled," they noted three defects. The index, which is arranged by number of

strokes A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop funct ...

, can be inconvenient (e.g., 2189 characters are listed under 9 strokes). The margins do not have characters to help locate entries under a radical. The two-character phrases may be listed under either component.

Publications

''Zhonghua Da Zidian'' by Zhonghua Book Company (Beijing)

*1st edition (17018-81): A condensed reprint based on the 1935 edition. 2 volumes. :*1st impression (1978-10) :*4th Beijing impression (1985-01)

''Zhonghua Da Zidian'' by Shanghai Chunghwa Book Company

*1st edition (1915)

''Zhonghua Da Zidian'' by Chung Hwa Book Company, Limited

*1st edition (1960) *6th edition (1983-09) *7th edition (中華大字典) () (2015-11-01): 2 volumes.

''Zhonghua Da Zidian'' by The Commercial Press International Co., Ltd.

*1st? edition: Includes 57,470 head letters. :*Regular print (中华大字典/Zhonghua Da Zidian) (): 1 edition, 2 impressions. 1 volume. ::*Edition 1, ?th impression (2015-03-??) :*Condensed print (中华大字典缩印本/Zhonghua Da Zidian) (): 1 edition, 1 impressions. 1 volume. ::*Edition 1, 1st impression (2015-06-??)

References

External links

*Chung Hwa Book Company, Limited page
ChineseTaiwan 7th edition
*The Commercial Press International Co., Ltd. page
ZHDJDZHDJD condensed print''Zhonghua da zidian''
(scanned copy) at the Internet Archive {{Dictionaries of Chinese Chinese dictionaries 1915 non-fiction books 1983 non-fiction books 2015 non-fiction books