The Jingdian Shiwen, often simply referred to as the Shiwen by Chinese philologists, was a
Chinese dictionary compiled by the
Tang dynasty scholar
Lu Deming
c. 583. Based on the works of 230 scholars whose work spanned the
Han,
Wei, and
Six Dynasties periods, the work provides
exegetical commentary on the evolution of words present in the Confucian
Thirteen Classics and the Daoist Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi.[1] Namely, it tacks the gradual shifts in both the meaning and pronunciation of classical words. to It also cites numerous ancient works that no longer exist; citations which for some constitute the only documentary evidence of their previous existence.
The dictionary's pronunciations are given by fanqie annotations, and have proved invaluable for historical linguists studying the
Middle Chinese stage of the language's history. Sinologist
Bernhard Karlgren considered the Jingdian Shiwen and the Qieyun, a
rime dictionary assembled in 601, as the two primary sources for the
reconstruction of Middle Chinese. Many studies in Chinese historical linguistics use data from the Jingdian Shiwen .
References
^Mair, Victor H. (1998), "Tzu-shu 字書 or tzu-tien 字典 (dictionaries)," in The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature (Volume 2), ed. by William H. Nienhauser, Jr., SMC Publishing, p. 168 (165-172).
The Jingdian Shiwen, often simply referred to as the Shiwen by Chinese philologists, was a
Chinese dictionary compiled by the
Tang dynasty scholar
Lu Deming
c. 583. Based on the works of 230 scholars whose work spanned the
Han,
Wei, and
Six Dynasties periods, the work provides
exegetical commentary on the evolution of words present in the Confucian
Thirteen Classics and the Daoist Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi.[1] Namely, it tacks the gradual shifts in both the meaning and pronunciation of classical words. to It also cites numerous ancient works that no longer exist; citations which for some constitute the only documentary evidence of their previous existence.
The dictionary's pronunciations are given by fanqie annotations, and have proved invaluable for historical linguists studying the
Middle Chinese stage of the language's history. Sinologist
Bernhard Karlgren considered the Jingdian Shiwen and the Qieyun, a
rime dictionary assembled in 601, as the two primary sources for the
reconstruction of Middle Chinese. Many studies in Chinese historical linguistics use data from the Jingdian Shiwen .
References
^Mair, Victor H. (1998), "Tzu-shu 字書 or tzu-tien 字典 (dictionaries)," in The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature (Volume 2), ed. by William H. Nienhauser, Jr., SMC Publishing, p. 168 (165-172).