The Lexicographic Approach to Modern Chinese Synonyms

The analysis of synonymic semantic relations in Chinese has a long tradition. Chinese scholars have suggested diverse interpretations to account for the semantic similarity so common in the Chinese lexicon. In addition to promoting theoretical analysis, the large amount of synonyms in Chinese has also encouraged the compilation of a large number of dictionaries. These dictionaries differ in terms of target readership, word selection and other aspects, but on the whole display a structure that tends to follow similar patterns. However, while a considerable research has been carried out with reference to the classification and composition of synonyms in both modern and classical Chinese, fewer studies have focused on the lexicographic treatment of synonyms. This paper aims to provide an overview of modern Chinese synonym dictionaries in an attempt to identify the criteria adopted by compilers, and bases itself on the analysis and comparison of select entries from different works.