So far, over 600 million copies have been printed! The Xinhua Dictionary has been around for 70 years, accompanying several generations of readers to enlighten and learn Chinese characters

Since its publication in 1953, the first modern Chinese dictionary in New China, the Xinhua Dictionary, has been around for 70 years.

So far, more than 0.6 billion copies have been printed, and it is the reference book with the largest circulation in the world. It has successively won the Honor Award of the 4th National Book Award, the Special Award of the 3rd National Dictionary Award, and the Nomination Award of the 3rd China Publishing Government Award Book Award-this is the influence of a dictionary.

In order to verify a place name, the reviser has to go through all the published maps, and also make a field survey to compare the materials obtained from the field survey with the literature records-this is the rigor and hard work behind the compilation of a dictionary.

The first edition of Xinhua Dictionary contains more than 6800 characters, the latest edition contains about 13000 characters, and the 12th edition contains words such as praise, two-dimensional code, punch-in and so on-this is the change of the times recorded in a dictionary.

A "Xinhua Dictionary" has accompanied several generations of readers in New China, recorded the progress of a country, condensed the memories of several generations, and made important contributions to the popularization of the cultural knowledge of the whole nation.

——Editor

Walking into the Central General Hall of the China National Edition Museum, in the exhibition area of China's contemporary publishing products and characteristic editions, a showcase is particularly eye-catching: various versions of New China's first modern Chinese dictionary "Xinhua Dictionary" are quietly displayed, from the yellowed 1953 first edition of "Xinhua Dictionary" to the brand-new 12th edition of "Xinhua Dictionary", various versions converge, like a river of time, and many people's memories are flooded.

70 years revised to 12th edition

As soon as each new edition is available, the revision of the next edition begins.

In 1950, Xinhua Dictionary Society was established, and the compilation of Xinhua Dictionary was officially launched. The compilation was presided over by Wei Jiangong and reviewed by Ye Shengtao. The first edition was issued in 1953.

In 1956, the Xinhua Dictionary Society was incorporated into the dictionary editing office of the Institute of Languages of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since then, the revision and maintenance of the "Xinhua Dictionary" has been mainly undertaken by the Institute of Languages of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In 1957, the Commercial Press launched "New Business Edition 1". Since then, "Xinhua Dictionary" has been revised more than 10 times, constantly following up the development of the times and changes in social life, showing new achievements in the development of economy, society, ideology and culture, science and technology and other fields.

"Xinhua Dictionary can last forever, sell for a long time, and is deeply loved by readers, largely because Xinhua Dictionary can keep pace with the times and constantly revise." Commercial Press party secretary, executive director Gu Qing said.

The first edition of Xinhua Dictionary contains more than 6800 characters, while the latest edition contains about 13000 characters. Many words in Xinhua Dictionary reflect the development and changes of the times and the progress of national civilization. For example, the 10th edition in 2004 included fiber optics, genes, cloning, etc., the 11th edition in 2011 included well-being, vision, people's livelihood, etc., and the 12th edition in 2020 included punch cards, likes, two-dimensional codes, etc., recording the development and changes of the Republic in terms of words. The 12th edition adds more than 100 new words and new examples, such as "initial heart" under "initial", "fan" under "fan" and "screen capture" under "cut". in addition, words such as "praise", "two-dimensional code", "intangible cultural heritage", "payment" and "online shopping" that are inseparable from current life are also included.

Kang Hui, an announcer at the Central Radio and Television Station, said that whether in the office or in the studio, the announcer and host almost have a copy of Xinhua Dictionary. "the audience regards our pronunciation as the standard reading, and we regard Xinhua Dictionary as the standard".

"When the economy and society develop at a high speed, language will also develop at a high speed, and new words and new meanings will continue to appear. The process of constantly revising the dictionary is the process of embodying norms and standards." Gu Qing said, "after each new edition of Xinhua Dictionary is published, the revision of the next new edition will begin immediately. At present, the revision of the 13th edition is being prepared in an orderly manner and will be carried out soon."

University Scholars Compilation of Small Dictionaries

In order to verify a place name, the revisers have to go through all published maps and conduct field surveys.

The authority of Xinhua Dictionary comes from the profound learning and rigorous and serious working attitude of the compilers.

"Sometimes for the pronunciation of a word, the interpretation of a word, the experts will repeatedly discuss, to field research. The hard work of compiling a dictionary is unimaginable to outsiders." Li Yuming, president of the Chinese Dictionary Society, said.

Cheng Rong, a researcher at the Institute of Languages of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the host of the 12th edition of Xinhua Dictionary, said that in order to verify a place name, the reviser should review all published maps, conduct on-the-spot investigation, and compare the materials obtained from the on-the-spot investigation with the literature records. Only when the map, literature and field investigation are consistent in sound, form and meaning, and there is no contradiction, can the pronunciation and shape of the final determination of place name. For example, the place names such as "Xi Tang" in Binyang, Guangxi and "Yi Zang" in Jishishan, Gansu were determined after field investigation.

Another example is the word "baked oil". In order to give an accurate interpretation, the writer of the 9th edition went to the barber shop twice to do baked oil, experienced each step of the process, and finally made an accurate explanation.

"As an authoritative dictionary, not the slightest bit of it can be subjective and arbitrary; if it is arbitrary, it will cause endless harm. Every word in the Xinhua Dictionary is carefully written and revised." Cheng Rong said.

Xinhua Dictionary has an excellent tradition of "big scholars compiling small dictionaries. Over the past 70 years, batch after batch of new Chinese cultural builders have compiled, revised and published the Xinhua Dictionary with lofty spiritual character. Ye Shengtao, Wei Jiangong, Shao Quanlin, Ding Shengshu, Chen Yuan, Wang Li, Lu Shuxiang, Zhou Zumo, Cao Xianhui, etc., have participated in the compilation and revision of this small dictionary.

The compilers bow their heads and dedicate silently; devote themselves to research and deliberate words; innovate and innovate continuously; be brave to take responsibility and have a family and country in mind. It is these qualities that have created the cultural temperament of Xinhua Dictionary, and finally turned into the spirit of being passed down from generation to generation -- the dedication spirit of being willing to be lonely and working hard, the craftsman spirit of striving for perfection and pursuing excellence, keeping pace with the times, keeping the innovation consciousness of opening up, and cherishing the cultural responsibility of home country and mission.

Linguist Cao Xianzhuo is the actual host of the revision of the 1971 edition of Xinhua Dictionary and the academic consultant of the 10th edition of Xinhua Dictionary. "Mr. Cao is very serious. Even if it is a question of one word, he will use hundreds of words or more to criticize it in the way of explanation, which is euphemistic and stern. On the small card, we can see Mr. Cao's serious and rigorous style of study." Cheng Rong recalled.

"The editing method and process of Xinhua Dictionary are constantly exploring and improving. The editing process has gradually changed from pure manual operation to computer operation. Paper cards have gradually been replaced by electronic cards. However, no matter how it changes, the basic principle of adhering to quality first has never changed." Cheng Rong said.

Embracing the Digital Age

So that more readers can use the standard, standard reference book

13 printed sheets, 19.9 yuan-this is the price of the student version of the 12th edition of Xinhua Dictionary. "At present, the price of a general book is 3 yuan to 6 yuan per print, but the price of the student version is only a little more than 50 cents per print." Gu Qing said that the "Xinhua Dictionary" has always been low priced for many years in order to allow more readers to use standard and standardized reference books.

In the new historical period, "Xinhua Dictionary" also assumes the historical responsibility of helping education out of poverty and building cultural people's livelihood.

In 2010, reports about the lack of dictionaries for children in remote mountainous areas aroused great attention from the society. Relying on the "Xinhua Dictionary", all sectors of society launched a public welfare action to use dictionaries to help education out of poverty.

In 2012, "Xinhua Dictionary" was included in the category of free textbooks for rural compulsory education. So far, nearly 0.2 billion copies of "Xinhua Dictionary" have been distributed to children in rural compulsory education.

In the past 10 years, many cultural institutions, such as the Language Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Broadcasting Department of the News Center of China Central Radio and Television, and the Commercial Press, have continued to pay attention to rural education, and carried out "dictionaries to the countryside", "small villages, big classrooms", and "flying dreams." Wings "and other series of public welfare activities, set up" Xinhua Dictionary "scholarships, established rural reading centers, related teaching assistants and poverty alleviation activities have covered more than 20 provinces including Jilin, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, and Fujian.

Over the past 70 years, Xinhua Dictionary has witnessed and recorded the whole process of New China from standing up, getting rich to becoming strong. From the eradication of illiteracy in New China, the promotion of the reform of Chinese characters, the promotion of the standardization of Putonghua and modern Chinese, to the cultivation and practice of socialist core values, and the decisive victory in building a well-off society in an all-round way, "Xinhua Dictionary" has made important contributions.

In the digital age, for the convenience of readers, the new edition of Xinhua Dictionary is the first time to launch the paper version and application simultaneously. The monochrome version and the two-color version have added a two-dimensional code to each page of the text. By scanning the code with Xinhua Dictionary APP, you can see the radicals, strokes, structures and other information of all the characters on the page. You can listen to the standard pronunciation, watch the stroke sequence animation, check the knowledge explanation, etc. free of charge, thus fully realizing the secondary upgrade of integrated publishing.

"In the next step, we plan to develop a new" Xinhua Dictionary "APP, highlighting the learning function, making the content richer and more matching the needs of users, allowing readers to use" Xinhua Dictionary "more conveniently and concisely, and empowering the dictionary through digitization." Gu Qing said.

Cheng Rong said, "For more than 70 years, the editing and revision of the Xinhua Dictionary has been carried out under the leadership of the Party. In the new era and new journey, we should work harder to do a good job of editing and revision in the future, better serve the people and make new contributions to the inheritance of Chinese culture."

My first "Xinhua dictionary"

I was born in 1965. I remember that when I was in the second grade of 1., in addition to textbooks and exercise books, there was often a "Xinhua Dictionary" in my schoolbag. At that time, what attracted me most was the illustrations of various animals and plants in it. Very vivid and realistic. This "Xinhua Dictionary" was purchased by my father and published by People's Education Publishing House in 1953. My eldest sister and eldest brother used it. I am the youngest of my brothers and sisters. This dictionary was later left in my hands.

In the early 1980 s, I went to Beijing to go to university. Since then, although the number of times to check Xinhua Dictionary has been relatively small, I have kept this dictionary. Every time a new edition of Xinhua Dictionary comes out, I will purchase it in time and read the revision instructions carefully to understand the new changes in each edition. Comparing the various editions of Xinhua Dictionary, we can see the great changes in New China from one side.

-- Wang Baoxian, reader of Xinhua Dictionary

Look up Xinhua Dictionary with your children.

I am a newspaper editor. In my bookcase, there is an old yellowed Xinhua Dictionary. When I met a certain word, I turned to Xinhua Dictionary. With the changes of the times, the pronunciation and meaning of some words will also change. If you don't look up the dictionary in time, you will always read wrong but don't know.

I remember that on the first day of primary school, my daughter brought home a copy of Xinhua Dictionary. A few weeks later, she learned how to look up words in pinyin and radicals, and looked up words she didn't know. Soon, the dictionary was turned dirty and broken, and the cover fell off. I went to the bookstore to buy a new one and put the old one in the bookcase. Since then, I often look up Xinhua Dictionary with my children to discuss the reading, writing and usage of a certain word. We also often read Xinhua Dictionary at random, and every time we find something new. Xinhua Dictionary brings me closer to my children's hearts, and makes me and my children feel the interest and charm of Chinese characters.

-- "Xinhua Dictionary" reader Quan Cuifang