Experts call for open minds as work begins on revision of dictionary

As China embarks on a revision of one of the country's most important dictionaries, linguists are asking the public to keep an open mind about the proposed changes and are calling for the new edition to include popular Web and Western words.

The Great Chinese Dictionary, or Hanyu Da Cidian, one of the most authoritative reference books in China, will be revised over the next few years. Those involved in the project will rework about 30 percent of an edition published in 1986 for the new edition, according to estimates.

The revision is likely to add 100,000 to 120,000 entries to the book, whose 12 volumes define 375,000 words and terms and contain more than 50 million Chinese characters.