China Translates 900-year-old Turkish Dictionary into ChineseChina will soon publish a Chinese version of a 900-year-old Turkish dictionary to push the study of central Asia.The dictionary was compiled by a Turkish scholar of Uygur origin who lived in Baghdad for some time in the 11th century. It was the first complete and systematic Turkish dictionary and an encyclopedia about the Turkish empire as well as China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and central Asia. The two-volume book, annotated in Arabian, contains 7,500 vocabulary entries. The dictionary had greatly influenced the Turkish culture and the life of ancient Uygur people. It was lost in chaotic times and was re-discovered in Turkey in 1914. More than 100 scholars from around China gathered in Xinjiang Thursday to discuss the book. They maintained that the dictionary is of great importance in terms of language, literature, culture and history. |
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