Xǔ Shèn (許慎) was the author of Shuōwén Jiězì, which was the first Chinese character dictionary. It contains over 9,000 character entries under 540 radicals, explaining the origins of the characters.

Xǔ Shèn lived in the Han Dynasty, and wrote his work between 100 CE and 121 CE, and presented the finished work to the Emperor An of Han China.

See also: Seal script