Introduction

Abstract The history of Chinese civilization traces back to Yandi (also known as Shen Nong, Divine Peasant) and Huangdi (also known as Xuan Yuan, Emperor Huang), legendary rulers of China in remote antiquity and the commonly recognized ancestors of the Chinese nation. The earliest dictionary in the Chinese language, The Ready Guide (< 尔 雅 >, also known as Erya), boasts a history of around 2,200 years. However, a systematic and coherent probe into the history of Chinese lexicography is something of a novelty, having started in the last quarter of the twentieth century. A Narrative History of Lexicography in China (<中国辞书史话>, 1979) by Fang Houshu (方厚枢) is the first serious monologue concerned with that part of dictionary research and with a wide time span, initiating a whole series of articles and works. Their pioneering endeavours, especially those studies on the classic wordbooks, have provided illuminating insights into later research. However, there is still a great deal of new ground to be covered and problems solved, some of which are fundamental in nature. This introduction will give an overview of various aspects of diachronic studies of lexicography in China, covering the status quo, the approaches to adopt, the methodology to employ, the segmentation of historical periods, and the practical implications, paving the way for discussions that run throughout this presentation.