Shuo Wen Jie Zi compiled by Xu Shen was written in the 12th year of Yongyuan in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 100). The book has 9353 words, which is the first dictionary mode arranged by radicals in China. The way to explain each word is: first explain each word, then explain the shape, and finally explain the sound. According to the "six books": pictograph, instruction, comprehension, pictophonetic characters, phonetic notation, transliteration and borrowing, the glyphs are explained. Hieroglyphics: A word-making method that describes characters according to the image of an object. For example, the sun is a round sun and the moon is the first quarter moon. Xu Shen and Han: "Second, pictographs, pictographs, are all painted into objects, and the sun and the moon are the same." Of things: because there is no specific image, symbolic symbols are used to express meaning. Up and down. Han Xu Shen. Shuo Wen Jie Zi Xu: "Those who refer to things can know from the sight and see from the view. Also called "things you like" and "things you do". "Understanding: refers to the word-making method that combines more than two words to express a meaning. If the sun and the moon are bright, people will be faithful. Xu Shen and Han: "Those who know, those who compare, see righteousness?" So is Wu Xin. Also known as "image meaning". Shape and sound: composed of notes and signifiers, representing form, and notes representing sound. For example, the words "Jiang" and "He" mean water, and their sounds can be distinguished by work. Xu Shen, Han: "People who speak, in the name of things, complement each other with examples." That is to say, it is mainly based on events, and then it is composed of sound. Also called "harmony" and "image sound". Zhuan Zhu: Originated from the same shape, with similar sounds and meanings, you can turn around and note each other. Such as Kao and Lao. Han Xu Shen. Explain the word order: "On the fifth day, if you transfer notes, you will build a class, agree to accept it, and you will always take the exam." "Under the guise of: some words in the language have sounds without glyphs, but they are expressed by homophones ... For example," Ling "originally means to send a signal, so it is the order of a county magistrate; "Long" was originally a long-standing meaning and was borrowed as the length of a county magistrate. Xu Shen's explanation of the word order in Han: "Six characters are borrowed from mistakes. Those who borrow money under false excuses have nothing to say. They excused themselves by their voices, and the commander was right. 」
Shuowen Jiezi is an ancient dictionary.
The interpretation of the characters in it is completely different from the modern interpretation.
Yike dialect dictionary