Book contents
- Conversations on Dictionaries
- Conversations on Dictionaries
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- 1 Ancient Greek
- 2 Esperanto
- 3 German
- 4 Chinese
- 5 Hybrid Languages
- 6 English
- 7 French
- 8 Italian
- 9 Arabic
- 10 Hebrew
- 11 Indigenous Languages
- 12 Irish
- 13 African Languages
- 14 Nahuatl
- 15 Yiddish
- 16 Portuguese
- 17 Japanese
- 18 Russian
- 19 Quechua
- 20 Scandinavian
- 21 Spanish
- Epilogue
- Index
- References
4 - Chinese
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 December 2025
By
Edited by
Book contents
- Conversations on Dictionaries
- Conversations on Dictionaries
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- 1 Ancient Greek
- 2 Esperanto
- 3 German
- 4 Chinese
- 5 Hybrid Languages
- 6 English
- 7 French
- 8 Italian
- 9 Arabic
- 10 Hebrew
- 11 Indigenous Languages
- 12 Irish
- 13 African Languages
- 14 Nahuatl
- 15 Yiddish
- 16 Portuguese
- 17 Japanese
- 18 Russian
- 19 Quechua
- 20 Scandinavian
- 21 Spanish
- Epilogue
- Index
- References
Summary
This conversation between Ilan Stavans and Haoran Tong centers on the evolution of Chinese dictionary-making that reflects a rich sociocultural and political tradition that spans millennia. Dictionaries translate the historical into the present, the frontier into the inland. The refinement of character dictionaries such as Erya and Shuowen jiezi facilitated the writing system’s revolutions. The emergence of bilingual dictionaries documented the transformation of Chinese phonetic notations. From exegesis of Confucian classics to compilations of ethnic dialects, institutional dictionary-making by the literati class remains an immutable symbol of the power to normalize, standardize, and harmonize. The divergence of definitions, notations, and arrangements of words across various dictionaries mirrors a proliferation of ideas on the future of the Chinese language and the Chineseness it embodies.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Conversations on DictionariesThe Universe in a Book, pp. 42 - 57Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
References
Suggested Readings
Chen, Tingjing 陈廷敬, Zhang, Yushu 张玉书, Wang, Hongyuan 王宏源, and Feng, Zheng 冯蒸. Kangxi zidian 康熙字典 [Kangxi dictionary]: hytung unicode database revision. Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe, 2008.Google Scholar
Coblin, W. South. “Erh ya” 爾雅. In Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide, edited by Loewe, Michael, 94–99. Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 1993.Google Scholar
Creamer, Thomas B. I. “Lexicography and the History of the Chinese Language.” In History, Languages, and Lexicographers, edited by Zgusta, Ladislav, 105–36. Berlin: Max Niemeyer, 1992.Google Scholar
Giles, Herbert Allen. A Chinese-English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1912.Google Scholar
Heinrich, Patrick. “Language Modernization in the Chinese Character Cultural Sphere: China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.” In The Cambridge Handbook of Language Standardization, edited by Ayres-Bennett, Wendy and Bellamy, John, 576–96. Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021.Google Scholar
Jiang, Lihong. A General Theory of Ancient Chinese. Singapore: Springer, 2023.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuzuoğlu, Uluğ. “Codebooks for the Mind: Dictionary Index Reforms in Republican China, 1912–1937.” Information and Culture: A Journal of History 53, no. 3 (2018): 337–66. muse.jhu.edu/article/707833CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liang, Sihua. Language Attitudes and Identities in Multilingual China: A Linguistic Ethnography. Cham: Springer, 2015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nienhauser, William H. Jr. “Diction, Dictionaries, and the Translation of Classical Chinese Poetry.” T’oung Pao 64, no. 1/3 (1978): 47–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Neill, Timothy Michael. Ideography and Chinese Language Theory: A History. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Packard, Jerome L. A Social View on the Chinese Language. New York: Peter Lang, 2021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shen, Zhongwei. A Phonological History of Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watters, Thomas. Essays on the Chinese Language. Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press, 1889.Google Scholar
Wuti Qing wenjian = A five language glossary = Wu-tʻi chʻing wen chien 五体清文鉴. Beijing: Gugong bowuguan/Palace Museum, 2001.Google Scholar
Xinhua Dictionary. Wanyouzhidian Digital Media Technology (Beijing) Co. Apple App Store, 2020. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/xinhua-dictionary/id1570086935Google Scholar
Xu, Shen 许慎 and Tang, Kejing 汤可敬. Shuowen jiezi 说文解字 [Explaining patterns and analyzing characters]. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2018.Google Scholar
Xuanying 玄应, . Yiqiejing yinyi 一切经音义 [Pronunciation and meaning in all the sutras]. [China]: Haishan xianguan, 1849.Google Scholar
Yong, Heming, and Peng, Jing. Chinese Lexicography: A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yong, Heming, Peng, Jing, and Zhang, Xiangming. Chinese Lexicography in the Twentieth Century. New York: Peter Lang, 2023.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Shilu 张世禄. Zhongguo yinyunxue shi 中国音韵学史 [History of Chinese phonetics]. Changsha: Commercial Press, 1938.Google Scholar
Zhou, Minglang. Language Ideology and Order in Rising China. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AAA
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The PDF of this book
complies with version 2.2 of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), offering more comprehensive accessibility measures for a broad range
of users and attains the highest
(AAA)
level of WCAG compliance, optimising the user experience by meeting the most extensive
accessibility guidelines.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
Visual Accessibility
Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Use of high contrast between text and background colour
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.