Xu Shen
Xu Shen | |
|---|---|
| 許慎 | |
| Born | 58 CE Henan, China |
| Died | 148 CE (aged 89 or 90) |
| Occupation(s) | Calligrapher, philologist, politician, writer |
| Notable work | Shuowen Jiezi |
| Xu Shen | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 許慎 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 许慎 | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Xu Shen (c. 58 – c. 148 CE) was a Chinese calligrapher, philologist, politician, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–189 CE). During his own lifetime, Xu was recognized as a preeminent scholar of the Five Classics. He was the author of Shuowen Jiezi, which was the first comprehensive dictionary of Chinese characters, as well as the first to organize entries by radical. This work continues to provide scholars with information on the development and historical usage of Chinese characters. Xu Shen completed his first draft in 100 CE but, waited until 121 CE before having his son present the work to the Emperor An of Han.