A Chinese Biographical Dictionary

The main body of the dictionary consists of alphabetically arranged biographical entries beginning with figures such as A-chiao, A-lao-wa-ting, A-lu-t’ai, Akuta, Bodhidharma, and many others, each presented with Chinese characters, historical period, official or religious identity, and concise narrative details. The work covers a broad historical range, from legendary antiquity and early imperial China to later dynasties and figures living close to Giles’s own time. Its entries include rulers, consorts, military commanders, civil officials, Confucian scholars, Buddhist and Daoist figures, foreign persons connected with China, rebels, loyalists, poets, and culturally memorable personalities. The dictionary is designed to clarify the historical and literary associations attached to Chinese names, especially when a person is cited in official writing, classical literature, historical anecdote, or moral exemplum. Many entries also note canonized titles, alternative names, literary names, dynastic affiliations, and cross-references, allowing the reader to trace the multiple identities through which a single figure may appear in Chinese sources. As a result, the work functions not only as a biographical register but also as a guide to the cultural memory, political vocabulary, and historical allusive system of traditional China.