Xu Shen

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Xu Shen (許慎) was the author of Shuowen Jiezi, which was the first character dictionary of the Chinese writing. It contains over 9,000 character entries under 540 radicals, explaining the origins of the characters.

Xu Shen lived in the Han Dynasty, and wrote his work between 100 CE and 121 CE, and presented the finished work to the Han Emperor An Di.

See also: Seal script