A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese (Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 4 China)

Things I like about this book -- it provides several English terms of various antiquity and register for each character. This is very useful when you want to convey the right tone in a translation. The translation of lianmian words using consonance or aliteration is especially clever.The order of definitions is more or less arbitrary (or what the author believes is the order of utility or frequency of use), rather than by chronology (Shang/W.Zhou definition, then Spr.&Aut./Warring States, then Qin/Han, then Medieval). The author does mark specifically medieval definitions, but gives little idea of the oldness of definitions otherwise. The Wang Li dictionary does a much better job of this.Unfortunately, due to a bit of carelessness, it falls short as a work of scholarship. For example, the character 皿 is translated as 'plate, platter, trencher' -- I had to look up what this last archaic word meant -- 'a long plate'. However, it missed the very common meaning of this character as 'bowl', and by extension, any '(food) container.' Thus, the author appears to have a far more sophisticated command of English than the (classical) Chinese!I bought this book mainly to help me better understand Middle Chinese phonology. The transcription system is Baxter's. Unfortunately, there is no guide for how that system works (aside from how it indicates tone). I had to Wikipedia "Baxter's transcription of Middle Chinese" to figure out the basics. Even then, I still don't understand the very puzzling + sign. It would be nice to have fanqie readings. Though my knowledge of Middle Chinese phonology is modest (I don't really understand how medials are reconstructed, for example), the fanqie quickly gives which of the 36 initials the word belongs to, followed by MC tone, and the -p, -t, -k ending, for checked tone characters.Other than that, some minor definitions and their associated less-common pronunciations are missing. For example, the definition 'to be fond of' giving rise to the modern reading yao4 (MC fanqie reading 五教切) for 樂 is missing. As a minor quibble, the archaic Buddhist pronunciation of 般若 is given the Mandarin reflex bo1re3, but 南無 is given the reading nan2wu2, instead of the traditional na2mo2. The book should at least be consistent in whether to choose the traditional pronunciation or to ignore it.Also, somewhat amusingly, 痔 'hemorrhoid' is mistakenly given as a tongjia meaning of 誌 when 痣 'mole (skin); mark' is clearly intended.All in all a good book, for someone who studies this stuff for fun (like me, for example -- this is definitely not my day job...) or maybe a student new to Classical Chinese, but a serious scholar would find it inadequate.Again, for anyone with a bit of modern Chinese knowledge, the Wang Li dictionary is still the gold standard.

This dictionary is an essential tool for any serious student of classical Chinese. In addition to being concise and thorough, it is well-organized and easy to use. The care and precision with which Prof. Kroll has edited the dictionary is evident throughout.Two things are important to note. First, this is a character dictionary rather than a word dictionary (a "zidian" as opposed to a "cidian," to use the Chinese terms). Many entries do give examples of words, phrases, or expressions containing the character in question, and the examples given are consistently helpful. But for most binomes and other multi-character words one will have to look elsewhere.Second, as Prof. Kroll states in his introduction, the definitions given are for texts dating from the Warring States through the Tang period. Many of these definitions are still relevant for texts written after the Tang -- the dictionary will be of great use to anyone wanting to read texts from the Song onward. But in general, for any usage judged to be later than Tang times, one will not find that usage among the definitions given. Again, one will need to consult other reference works.Among the dictionary's invaluable features are the frequent definitions given for flora and fauna (including Latin equivalents), and for Taoist and Buddhist terms (with Sanskrit equivalents provided for the latter).Appendices include tables showing the sexagesimal cycle; the heavenly stems and earthly branches; Yijing trigrams and hexagrams; the lunar lodgings and Jupiter stations; and detailed reign titles for the Han through Tang.For a dictionary the paperback edition is relatively light and portable.Prof. Kroll and his collaborators have produced a work that will benefit all students of classical Chinese in the twenty-first century. Brill publishers should be commended for issuing a reasonably-priced paperback edition. This dictionary is a monument to scholarship, but is also clear, concise, and eminently useful.

I've used this book for a year now, and it's always come through. There are many variants of classical Chinese, different eras, different parts of the country, and many variants of the characters, but it's only rarely I can't find a character in this book. I see that another reviewer commented that the design is flawed, but I actually think the design is clean and even beautiful. The bane of studying Chinese is trying to read tiny characters and figuring out how to write characters, especially arcane ones. For modern characters I use two other books to see how to write the characters. One of these books is a Chinese primary school dictionary showing how to write the 2500 characters primary school student are responsible for. Many additional characters use these characters as components. The second book is Reading and Writing Chinese, by McNaughton, which shows how to write the first 1100 or so traditional and simplified characters. It also defines the 2500 basic characters. This is a wonderful resource, though occasionally the sequence of strokes McNaughton gives is different from that recommended in China today, but this is a minor issue. Also, there are characters he says aren't used any more that are indeed still well in use, especially in names. For example, 尔。 (I live in China.)This book has made my study of older Chinese much, much easier and more fun than it would otherwise be.

I studied Classical Chinese for 3 years in the College to be able to translate Chinese Buddhist Texts to Hungarian. I wish I would be aware of this dictionary at that time, but I really enjoy to use it now.It is an easy to use dictionary with clear explanations.

excellent and long awaited

Five stars says it all. A good solid work.

Up until now the only lexicons of real heft and integrity used by students of classical Chinese who've not yet quite got the hang of Chinese-to-Chinese dictionaries have been dear old Mathews (full of idiosyncrasies and errors, and with its entries oddly organized), and the stupendous Grand Ricci (but that's no good if you know no French). Now, at long last, a fine character dictionary has arrived (a handy zidian 字典,, though not, as is the Grand Ricci, a cidian 辭典 ---i.e. it's not a dictionary of words, phrases and diction, and hasn't the space to give examples of usage). The entries it does contain are exceptionally well-organized, and clearly arranged on the page, and their wording is impeccably clear and helpful. Alas, relatively few binomes are supplied---again, through lack of space. (Even the Grand Ricci sometimes lets one down where these are concerned, and one then really does have to go back to the Hanyu Dacidian). I do regret two other less excusable omissions: alternative forms of characters are absent from all entries, and there's no helpful list of 'characters having obscure radicals' tacked onto the otherwise excellent index by radicals at the end. The publishers can't get off the hook by pleading lack of space in either of these cases, and this alone means that we won't be getting rid of our Mathews volumes just yet. But what a truly magnificent scholarly achievement this still is. No student should be without his or her copy from now on.

Un diccionario ya asentado en su área de trabajo, excelente en su formato, contenido, y apéndices. Indispensable para cualquiera que desee adentrarse en el estudio del chino clásico y medieval, y que ya posea conocimientos de escritura china.