When was the ABC Chinese–English Dictionary first published?
ABC Chinese–English Dictionary
The ABC Chinese–English Dictionary or ABC Dictionary (1996), compiled under the chief editorship of John DeFrancis, is the first Chinese dictionary to collate entries in single-sort alphabetical order of pinyin romanization, and a landmark in the history of Chinese lexicography. It was also the first publication in the University of Hawai'i Press's "ABC" (Alphabetically Based Computerized) series of Chinese dictionaries. They republished the ABC Chinese–English Dictionary in a pocket edition (1999) and desktop reference edition (2000), as well as the expanded ABC Chinese–English Comprehensive Dictionary (2003) and dual ABC Chinese–English/English-Chinese Dictionary (2010). Furthermore, the ABC Dictionary databases have been developed into computer applications such as Wenlin Software for learning Chinese (1997).
Ciyuan
The Ciyuan or Tz'u-yüan is the earliest modern encyclopedic Chinese phrase dictionary. The Commercial Press published the first edition "Ciyuan" in 1915, and reissued it in various formats, including a 1931 supplement, and a fully revised 1979-1984 edition. The latest (3rd) edition was issued in 2015 to commemorate the centenary anniversary of its first publication.