Chinese Characters: A Genealogy and Dictionary

As evidenced by the title of this dictionary, it is tempting to use genetic metaphors to explain the connections between Chinese characters. Of course, characters are just symbols that cannot be traced along a true genealogy. To the extent possible, the 字譜 decompose characters according to 許慎's 說文解字（c.l00）, one of China's first and still most influential dictionaries. Exceptions arise due to omissions from the 說文，to new characters postdating the 說文，to the remarkably few inconsistencies within that work, and to my own misunderstandings and oversights. Since the 說文 is based on the 小篆 characters of the 秦 dynasty, it does not include information about earlier forms, such as the 甲骨文 characters. While no longer an authoritative source on character origins, the 說文 remains the reference point for all subsequent scholarship and for this reason was chosen as the basis of the 字譜.
After each character's dictionary entry, a brief explanation of the character's "etymology"（字源）follows. Many of these stories are from later commentaries on the 說文 and are more speculative about how the elements combine to suggest a certain idea. In choosing among explanations from different commentaries I relied on what seems plausible, on what can be succinctly presented, and on the judgments of tertiary sources, primarily the extremely helpful 形音義綜合大字典 by 高樹藩.