The Shuōwãn jiězì is the first known systematic work on Chinese characters. It was composed during the first century(completed in the year 100 AD1) by Xǔ Shân 許慎2 a Hàn scholar, famous for his knowledge of the Classics. There is a long tradition of study regarding the Shuōwãn with many commentaries written on it. But there are also quite a few problems concerning the “traditional” approach of the Shuōwãn. In this paper we will propose a new way of analysing the lexical entries in this major work. In a collaboration with Professor Harbsmeier (HãMîyã 何莫邪) from Oslo University in Norway we propose a different perspective for the study and translation of the Shuōwãn.3 This new approach consists in translating the text in an analytical perspective rather than in a descriptive perspective4, and in trying to understand the underlying methods which lead to the production of Xû Shân’s work.

• Françoise Bottéro | 蒲芳莎