About Chao Dian
Chao Dian is a community dictionary for preserving and sharing Teochew vocabulary.
Chao Dian organizes words long used in spoken Teochew into a searchable, correctable, and enduring digital dictionary.
Purpose
Teochew, also called Chaozhou or Chaoshan speech, is a major everyday language of the Chaoshan region and preserves many elements of earlier Chinese. Chao Dian supports learning, communication, and research while creating a clearer linguistic record of local culture.
Timeline
- March 2017 — Mr Zhan Hanyi proposed the initiative.
- May 2017 — Mogher provided the technical platform; Mr Zhou Huanjia helped complete and verify the foundational data.
- June 2017 — The collaborative Chao Dian platform launched.
- June 2017 to present — Contributors have continued writing, advising, organizing sources, and proofreading.
Community contributions
The project depends on long-term community support: contributors enter and edit data, specialists advise on Teochew, customs, history, botany and Southern Min, and Mogher maintains the platform for ongoing organization, search, and publication.
Acknowledgements
Principal editors include 詹韩逸, 周焕佳, 野人家, 吧啦, 崇天高雲, 幻恒, 记忆, 逸飞, 博乐, paula, 陈新杰 and 似的. We also thank the many language, folklore, history, natural-science, and Southern Min advisers who have supplied expertise and source material.