TheShizhoupian (Chinese:史籀篇) is the first knownChinese dictionary, and was written in the ancientlarge seal script. The work was traditionally dated to the reign ofKing Xuan of Zhou (827–782 BCE), but many modern scholars assign it to thestate of Qin in theWarring States period (c. 475 – 221 BCE). The text is no longer fully extant, and it is now known only through fragments.
TheShizhoupian dictionary, which was probably compiled sometime between 700 BCE to 200 BCE, originally consisted of 15 chapters (篇piān), but six were lost by the reign ofEmperor Guangwu of Han (25–56 CE) and the other nine chapters, except for scattered references, were lost by theJin dynasty (266–420).[2]
Until recently, it was thought that the dictionary title referred to Shi Zhou (史籀, who allegedly served asGrand Historian in the court ofWestern Zhou King Xuan (r. 827–782 BCE). Both thec. 78 CE "Yiwenzhi" chapter of theBook of Han and the 121 CEShuowen Jiezipostface record that King Xuan's historian Zhou compiled theShizhoupian.[3]
The philologistWang Guowei (1877–1927) disputed this traditional account withepigraphical evidence that the structure and style of theShizhoupian characters did not match inscriptions from the Western Zhou period.[4] Wang also doubted thatzhòu (籀) was a person'ssurname, interpreting it to mean讀 'to study and understand the meaning of books', 'to read', and concluded the dictionary title was likely taken from the first sentenceTaishi zhoushu (太史籀書, "the Grand Historian reads the records").[5][6][7]
The linguist Tang Lan (唐蘭; 1901–1979) hypothetically identified Shi Zhou (史籀), who is only recorded inShizhoupian contexts, with the differently named Shi Liu (史留) listed in theBook of Han chapter on "Notable Persons Past and Present".[5] In theZhengzhang system ofOld Chinese reconstructions these two words were pronounced *l'ɯwɢs (籀) and *m·ru (劉). An ancientding tripodal cauldron in the collection of theShanghai Museum mentioned a Historian Liu from the correct historical period.[8]
Modern scholars believe thatzhou (籀) does not refer to a person, but means 'read' or 'chant'. The lexicographer Liu Yeqiu (劉叶秋) suggested that the wordshi (史) may refer to the title given to students in ancient times who could recite 9,000 characters, with the title thus translated as "Shi (Reciters') Chants".[2]
The termZhou script (籀文zhòuwén) refers to approximately 220 examples of ancient characters from theShizhoupian that are quoted in theHan dynasty character dictionaryShuowen Jiezi.[9] The Zhou script characters have been described as generally symmetrical and balanced, and are generally more complex than the later seal characters.[5] They contain many swirls and circles in place of later squared or rectilinear forms.
