What is the oldest known Chinese dictionary, compiled during the Han dynasty? The oldest surviving Chinese dictionary is Erya.
Erya is generally dated to the late Warring States period and early imperial era, with much of its material originating around the third century BCE. It predates the Han dynasty, although it was highly respected and used as an authoritative reference during the Han period.
The work explains terms from classical Chinese texts and organizes them by semantic categories. Its authorship is uncertain because it appears to combine glosses and commentaries compiled over time rather than representing the work of one clearly identified writer.
Shuowen Jiezi, the stored answer, was compiled by Xu Shen during the Eastern Han dynasty, around the first and second centuries CE. It is historically important as the first comprehensive Chinese character dictionary organized by graphic components or radicals, but it is not the oldest Chinese dictionary overall.
Thus, the question’s Han-dynasty description is imprecise. Erya is the correct answer to the central claim about the oldest known Chinese dictionary.