《说文解字》
《说文解字》是一部语文工具书。其作者许慎是汝南召陵（今河南省漯河市）人，东汉著名经学家、文字学家、语言学家，中国文字学的开拓者，后人尊称其为“字圣”。
《说文解字》是中国最早系统分析汉字字形和考究字源的语文辞书。这本书从上万个汉字中，把它们的偏旁和部首区别出来，归纳为540个部首，开创了按部首编排汉字的方法。直至今日，中国人使用的汉语字典、词典仍然使用部首检字法编排。
《说文解字》共15卷，其中前14卷为文字解说，对造字法做出了具体说明，并解释字形与字义或字音之间的关系。第15卷为叙目，记录汉字的产生、发展、功用、结构等，以及作者创作的目的。全书共收录汉字9353个，另有“重文”（即异体字）1163个，共10516字。
《说文解字》是中国语言学史上第一部分析字形、说解字义、辨识声读的字典，被誉为“科学文字学和文献语言学的奠基之作”。《说文解字》还是记录自然和历史文化的百科全书，其中保留的大量古代历史、文化方面的材料，有助于世人了解中国古代历史和语言文化发展。
Shuo Wen Jie Zi
Shuo Wen Jie Zi (An Analytical Dictionary of Chinese Characters), is a reference book for the study of Chinese characters. It was compiled by Xu Shen (58-147), an established scholar and linguist of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). Born in Zhaoling, Runan (present-day Luohe, Henan Province), Xu is a trailblazer of Chinese characters, who has been esteemed as the "Sage of Characters" by later generations.
Shuo Wen Jie Zi i s the first dictionary that systematically analyzes the structure and etymology of Chinese characters. It categorizes over 10,000 characters into 540 sections under different radicals, according to which the characters are arranged and sequenced. This method is still used in Chinese dictionaries today.
The book consists of 15 chapters. The first 14 chapters are character entries that explain in detail why and how the characters are so formed and how the form is related to the meaning or pronunciation. The 15th chapter is a postface that records the emergence, development, usage, and structure of characters, as well as the purpose of the author in compiling the book. There are altogether 9,353 character entries, plus 1,163 graphic variants, totaling 10,516 characters.
Shuo Wen Jie Zi is the first dictionary in the Chinese history of linguistics that analyzes the structure of characters, explains their meanings, and identifies their sounds, being reputed as the "cornerstone treatise on characters and philology." It is also an encyclopedia that helps people understand China's ancient history and linguistic and cultural evolution.
