Xu Shen

Also known as Zi Shuzhong

Xu Shen, courtesy name Shuzhong, came from Shaoling in Runan and was known for his simple, honest nature; he read the classics widely as a youth, Ma Rong held him in high regard, and people said no one matched Xu Shuzhong in the Five Classics. He served as a commandery officer, was recommended as filial and incorrupt, worked in the office of the grand commandant and became magistrate of Xiao county, dying at home. Troubled by conflicting interpretations of the classics, he wrote the Differing Meanings of the Five Classics, and he compiled the Explanation of Graphs and Analysis of Characters (Shuowen jiezi) in fourteen sections, explaining the form and meaning of 9,353 characters arranged under 540 radicals. His preface is dated 100, and in 121 his son Xu Chong presented the finished work to the throne. The standard text today is the edition prepared by Xu Xuan in the early Northern Song, while Xu Kai of the Southern Tang wrote a separate commentary.