First, how to understand "different versions"
The so-called "different versions" can be divided into three situations: the first is that the authors of the stories are different. This one was written by Zhang San and that one was written by Li Si. The second is that storytellers have the same author, but different versions. For example, a book written by someone in the Song Dynasty was engraved once in the Ming Dynasty and reprinted in the Qing Dynasty. Today's publishing houses can choose Ming edition or Qing edition. In the third case, the author of the book is the same, and so is the block print. The difference is that a publishing house is published and B publishing house is also published, thus forming two versions. I introduced the version of Shuo Wen Jie Zi, which refers to the first case unless otherwise specified.
Second, what versions are there?
At present, there are six kinds of Shuowen Jiezi available on the market:
1, [Southern Tang Dynasty] Xu Kai wrote Shuowen Jiezi Zhuan (referred to as Zhuan), commonly known as Xu Ben Shuowen;
2.[ Song] Xu Xuan wrote "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" (commonly known as "Xu Ben Shuo Wen");
3, [Qing] Duan Yucai wrote "Shuo Wen Jie Zi Zhu" (commonly known as "Duan Zhu");
4. [Qing] Gui Fu wrote "Explaining Zheng Ziyi by Writing" (referred to as "Yi Zheng");
5. [Qing] Wang Jun wrote Shuo Wen Ju Du (referred to as Ju Du);
6. [Qing] Zhu Zhu's "Shuo Wen Tong Xun" (hereinafter referred to as "Shuo Wen Tong Xun").
Someone said, "No, I've also read Shuo Wen Jie Zi, which is marked' Written by Xu Shen'." This is Xu Ben's Shuowen.
Others said, "I have read Shuo Wen Jie Zi, which is marked with illustrations, text contrast on white background, punctuation and pinyin retrieval." The main part of this book is still Shuo Wen written by Xu Ben, but modern people have added something to meet the needs of different readers.
Thirdly, there are two main problems.
Faced with different versions, people usually have two major concerns: First, is there Xu Shen's original work in the book, is it full text or excerpt, is it original or tampered with? Second, are there any notes in the book? Whose notes are better?
These six versions, without exception, adopt the writing style of "original text+notes". The original text is the original text of Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi. Annotation is the annotation added by the author of the book.
Fourth, whose "originality" is more authentic?
The original part is complete. In other words, if you buy any of the six versions, it is equivalent to buying a full version of Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi.
It should be noted that the prefixes in Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi are arranged by radicals, while the book Shuo Wen Tong Xun Ding Sheng has been adjusted to arrange the prefixes in alphabetical order. You can understand this as innovation or "arbitrary change".
Except the characteristics of Ding Sheng, there is no difference between the other five original parts.
5. Why is there no original Xu Shen?
After Xu Shen wrote Shuo Wen Jie Zi, after hundreds of years of copying, it had lost its original appearance in the Tang Dynasty. Ancient scholars had to sort out the copied books, discard the false and retain the true, and return the books to their true colors. Therefore, the "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" we read today is all such a "restoration" without exception.
At this point, some friends will be disappointed. What they bought was an imitation! In fact, after countless people's research, the restoration of the ancients was quite successful. Telling a joke, demanding word for word, is like an academic "cleanliness addiction."
6. Who has the best annotation?
There are many famous versions of Shuo Wen Jie Zi in the history of China, but the best of them are preserved now.
If we really want to distinguish between good and bad, we must first "eliminate" Shuowen written by Daxu, because it has too few annotations. Some people praise it as "fewer but better", but I don't think so. Shuo Wen Jie Zi cherishes ink to the utmost, which is difficult to understand, and the annotation cherishes ink to the utmost. What else can we learn?
Among the five existing editions, Zhu Duan's annotation is the most profound, which is recognized by history. The other four companies have their own strengths, so I won't introduce them here.
Seven, how to choose the version
Learning Shuo Wen Jie Zi, Zhu Duan is the first choice. This version has always been highly respected. Its advantages are more complicated, so you might as well check it online.
Of course, what suits you is the best. At present, there are a large number of Chinese scholars who just want to spend the least time and have a general understanding of Shuo Wen Jie Zi in the most relaxed way. It is suggested that these friends choose a book "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" published by a regular publishing house.
Eight, about the woodblock printing press
With regard to engraving, the current publishing houses will choose the best engraving to publish. So that it is difficult for us to buy two kinds of prints and compare them at home. Therefore, it is meaningless to introduce engraving.
The difference caused by different publishers is: 1, font size. 2. Typesetting method. 3. Search method. 4. Pricing. 5. Error rate.
At present, as far as Chinese mainland is concerned, there are only four books published by Zhonghua Book Company, namely Shuowen Jiezi Zhuan, Shuowen Jiezi Yi Zheng, Shuowen Judu and Shuowen Tongxun Ding Sheng, so there is no choice. Shanghai ancient books edition has the highest cost performance. Shuowen Jiezi is the most cost-effective version of Zhonghua Book Company.