\tThe Kangxi zidian \u5eb7\u7199\u5b57\u5178 "Dictionary of the Kangxi reign (1662-1722)" is the largest character dictionary of traditional China. It was compiled on imperial order by Zhang Yushu \u5f20\u7389\u4e66 and Chen Yanjing \u9648\u5ef6\u656c and was finished in 1716. These Qing period \u6e05 (1644-1911) compilers made use of older dictionaries, expecially the Ming period \u660e (1368-1644) dictionariesZihui \u5b57\u6c47 by Mei Yingzuo \u6885\u81ba\u795a and Zhengzitong \u6b63\u5b57\u901a by Zhang Zilie \u5f20\u81ea\u70c8. It consists of 12 "collections" (ji \u96c6) of which each is divided into three parts. It makes use of the 214 radicals system established in theZhengzitong. Each character is attributed to a radical. The radicals are arranged according to the number of brush strokes. Below the radical levels characters are arranged according to the stroke number left after subtracting the radical. The Kangxi zidian contains 47,035 characters and was the largest dictionary before the compilation of the Zhonghua da zidian \u4e2d\u534e\u5927\u5b57\u5178 in 1915. This large number comes into being because all character variants from ancient times on are recorded. For each one the locus classicus is quoted. A long introductory part explains the use of the traditional rhymes (Zimu qieyun yaofa \u5b57\u6bcd\u5207\u97f5\u8981\u6cd5). There is also an index for characters whose radical is not easy to determine (Jianzi \u68c0\u5b57) and a chapter comparing characters that are very similar to each other and not easy to discern (Biansi \u8fa8\u4f3c). For each character the pronunciation according to the fanqie system \u53cd\u5207 is given first, as it is explained in older dictionaries, like the Guangyun \u5e7f\u97f5, Jiyun \u96c6\u97f5 or Gujin yunhui \u53e4\u4eca\u97f5\u4f1a, and then the direct pronunciation (zhiyin \u76f4\u97f3) via a homophonous character. The pronunciation paragraph is followed by an explanatory part in which quotations from all kinds of literature is given to explain the different meanings of the character, in first place often from the oldest character dictionary of China, the Shuowen jiezi \u8bf4\u6587\u89e3\u5b57, followed by theConfucian classics, historiographic writings, and on to belles-lettres. This part is often followed by a section rendering alternativ readings, alternative meanings, and alternative writings of the character. The quality of the entries is very high compared to older dictionaries, as the Kangxi zidian is very critical to a lot of quotations. There were, nevertheless, errors in the quotations, for which reason Wang Yinzhi \u738b\u5f15\u4e4b compiled a text-critial appendix to the dictionary, the Zidian kaozheng \u5b57\u5178\u8003\u8bc1, in 12 chapters (juan "scrolls"). It contains 2,588 paragraphs of corrected mistakes. Another critical appendix to the Kangxi zidian has been written by the Japanese scholar Watanabe Atsushi \u6e21\u90e8\u6e29, the Kangxi zidian kaoyi zhengwu \u5eb7\u7199\u5b57\u5178\u8003\u5f02\u6b63\u8bef, which contains 11,700 entries.<\/p>\n