On December 15, blogger "@钱妞, Spring" posted a video saying that he would sue Xinhua Dictionary. On the 16th, the blogger said in the live broadcast room of his other account "@钱一曝教材" that there would be preliminary results within 7 working days.
In the video, the blogger said that the Xinhua dictionary contained content that was "suspected of violating relevant laws and regulations and may have adverse effects on the physical and mental well-being of minors."
The blogger lists several things in the video:
On page 500, the annotated compound of the word "play" is "to play with women";
On page 31, the note on the word "don't" reads: "A pistol pinned to his waist";
On page 284, the annotation of the word "tired" forms the sentence "The child is small and has become a burden";
On page 511, the explanation of the word "Wako" is only "called Japan in ancient times", and the word "Wako" does not appear, and the blogger says that "the historical sins of Wako are written off".
At the end of the video, the blogger said that "the prosecution materials have been sent to the Yuhang District People's Court of Hangzhou City." On the 16th, the blogger said in the "@钱一曝教材" live broadcast room that there would be preliminary results within 7 working days, and said that the progress would be reported in the live broadcast room.
Screenshot of the live broadcast room. Source: The account number of the party
It is understood that on May 27, 2022, the 11th edition of "Xinhua Dictionary" attracted the attention and even controversy of netizens, mainly focusing on the word "playing with women". Some netizens believe that this example is suspected of insulting women. Some netizens believe that the reference book simply explains the usage of phrases. In this regard, Jimu News reported that a teacher in the Chinese department of a university in Wuhan believes that the users of reference books are not the same, and it is appropriate to give examples according to the characteristics of users.
The teacher said that the Xinhua Dictionary is a small language reference book, which is mainly used by primary and secondary school teachers and students. Therefore, the words, words and meanings and use cases received should take into account the use of language norms by primary and secondary school students, and should be cautious. In terms of definitions and examples, the context of use can be appropriately indicated to facilitate students' understanding and application.