A Dictionary of Beijing Dialect

Name: A Dictionary of Beijing Dialect
ISBN: 9787101087642

傅民 / 高艾军Zhonghua Book Company · ChinaDec 2021

4.2

Word count: 1.4M words
Chapters: 33
ISBN: 9787101087642

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Summary

A Dictionary of Beijing Dialect brings you into the hutong culture of old Beijing; keeping a copy at home means preserving the roots of old Beijing culture. The author selected Beijing dialect words from novels, operas, folk vocal arts, films, and television works, notating them according to actual Beijing pronunciation, with concise definitions and apt example sentences. The dictionary aids the study of Chinese, especially Putonghua, helping us understand the origins of certain words in modern standard Mandarin. It also helps readers read and appreciate Beijing-flavored literary works, and to better understand society, since explanations of era-specific terms reveal local customs and social conditions. Two features stand out: first, its large vocabulary, far exceeding comparable dictionaries on the market and covering Beijing dialect from different historical periods, so readers can clearly trace its development and the depth of Beijing culture; second, its abundant examples—the author insists that every example has a documented source, providing authentic language material through which readers not only grasp word meanings but also glimpse Beijing's features across different periods.

Editor's review

Compiled by Fu Min, A Dictionary of Beijing Dialect is an authoritative reference work on Beijing's dialect and folk culture. Published by Zhonghua Book Company as a language dictionary, it systematically collects some 13,000 Beijing dialect words spanning the late Qing dynasty to the present. Beyond definitions, it traces etymologies, marks pronunciations, lists usage examples, and supplements entries with rich folk-cultural background. Compared with similar dictionaries, its greatest value lies in balancing scholarship and practicality—adhering to rigorous linguistic standards while preserving the vitality of colloquial speech. In review, the editorial team found its notation of phonetic phenomena such as erhua and neutral tone especially precise, and its coverage of euphemisms, xiehouyu, and trade argot peculiar to the Beijing patois remarkably complete, making it a veritable 'hutong on paper.' For language researchers, it is primary material for analyzing the evolution of Mandarin; for literary creators, a source of authentic Beijing-flavored language; for lovers of old Beijing culture, a warmly evocative index of memory. Cultural annotations on entries such as 'drinking douzhi,' 'taking birds for a walk,' and 'the radio' reflect the city's philosophy of life and layered history. Notably, some late Qing and early Republican words have faded from daily use—which only makes the book more precious as a linguistic archive.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers and students of linguistics and folklore
Writers and screenwriters creating Beijing-flavored literature or film and television scripts
Long-term residents of Beijing, old and new, who wish to understand the cultural connotations of the dialect
General readers interested in dialect comparison and sociolinguistic change

Not a good fit for

Short-term tourists seeking only quick lookups of standard Mandarin equivalents
Young readers expecting abundant comic illustrations or light reading

Reading tips

Begin with the preface and editorial notes to understand the compilation principles and phonetic notation system
Read alongside regional works, such as folk-custom titles like A Classified Collection of Beijing Customs, for context
Try reading classic example sentences aloud in dialect to appreciate the sound and flavor

About the publisher

Zhonghua Book Company China · Founded in 1912

Zhonghua Book Company is a publisher known for collating ancient texts and academic publishing, with its output centered on Eastern philosophy, culture, classic works, art, and historical reading. Its library contains 532 titles, including Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, Guo Qingfan's Collected Commentaries on Zhuangzi, the four-volume Chinese Literature: Four Great Classical Novels, and the two-volume Table of Seal and Clerical Script Forms from Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin. These titles span historical classics, commentaries on the philosophers, classical novels, and philological reference works. Representative authors include Chen Shou, Guo Qingfan, Wu Cheng'en, Shi Nai'an, Cao Xueqin, Luo Guanzhong, Xu Wenwu, and the Hanyu Dazidian character-form group, reflecting a focus on primary sources and scholarly editors. Its publishing character lies in combining authoritative editions and annotated texts with both accessible classics and specialized research. Public information on its fuller catalog is limited; this note describes only the directions evident in the library's holdings.

版权信息
出版说明
《北京话词语》序
序
凡例
词目首字音节索引
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引例略称与全称对照
《北京话词语》后记
《北京话词语》（增订本）后记
后记

FAQ

Which period's Beijing speech does the dictionary focus on?

The dictionary centers on mid-20th-century Beijing speech while systematically collecting common words from the late Qing to the present, noting period usage in entries.

Will non-Beijingers have difficulty using this dictionary?

Definitions are given in standard Mandarin with IPA aids, and key entries include contextual examples. Non-native speakers will need to rely on phonetic notation and examples; some cultural entries require the annotations.

How does this book differ from other Beijing dialect dictionaries?

Compiled under the auspices of Zhonghua Book Company, it combines scholarly rigor with the vividness of everyday speech, with meticulous etymological research and extensive folk-cultural notes, functioning as both a reference work and a humanistic reader.

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About the author

傅民 Author

Fu Min is an author about whom limited public information is available. His representative work is the Dictionary of Beijing Dialect. This work indicates that Fu Min's focus lies in the language and culture of Beijing speech, a field with strong regional character, placing his writing in the cultural and lexicographic direction. The dictionary documents and organizes Beijing dialect, local expressions, and urban cultural memory, and reference works of this kind are valuable for dialect studies, understanding local customs in Beijing, and preserving linguistic materials. Because public information is limited, details such as Fu Min's education, professional positions, and dates of birth and death cannot be confirmed, and his profile rests mainly on this single work. Based on the available facts, he can be regarded as an author engaged in compiling and organizing materials on Beijing's language and culture, with a practical, dictionary-style approach rather than theoretical exposition or narrative writing.

高艾军 Author

Gao Aijun is an author about whom limited public information is currently available. Only one work by this author appears in the bibliographic database, namely A Dictionary of Beijing Dialect, which is classified under culture. This representative work suggests that Gao Aijun is interested in Beijing dialect, a language variety with distinctive regional characteristics, and has chosen the dictionary form to organize and record its vocabulary. Beijing dialect is not only an important foundation of Standard Mandarin but also carries the everyday experience, customs, and street life of old Beijing; a dictionary devoted to it therefore tends to function both as a language reference and as a cultural reader. Such work generally requires long-term accumulation of language data, careful discrimination of word meanings, and attention to differences in usage, reflecting the compiler's regard for local language and culture. Because details of Gao Aijun's life, identity, and academic background remain unclear, a fuller profile cannot yet be given; readers may chiefly come to know this author's interest in and contribution to the documentation of dialect and regional culture through A Dictionary of Beijing Dialect.