Fenlei zijin 分類字錦

Fenlei zijin 分類字錦 "Brocade of words divided into categories" is a rhyme dictionary compiled on imperial order during the Kangxi reign-period 康熙 (1662-1722), and finished in 1722. In 64 juan or fascicles, idioms (chengyu 成語) from all ages and literary categories have been assembled, ranging from disyllabic to tetrasyllabic expressions. For each word, quotations from literature are presented, with the objective to provide a handbook for the composition of or the study of poetry. The quality of the Fenlei zijin is rated as very high, and the arrangement as very unique.

Figure 1. Beginning of the Fenlei zijin 分類字錦

As usual, the book begins with the topic "Heaven" (tian 天), and the binominal metaphoric expression (erzi chengdui 二字成對) fudao 覆幬 "cover", quoting from the Liji 禮記 "Records of Rites". The next section (not in the image) are binominal expressionals including the word tian 天 (erzi beiyong 二字備用), followed by trisyllabic (sanzi chengdui 三字成對), and tetrasyllabic (sizi chengdui 四字成對) metaphoric expressions. Edition Taibei: Wenyou shudian, 1967.

There is a print from the year of the finalization. The Fenlei zijin is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書.