Li Yanzhi - Memorizing a 220,000-word English-Chinese Dictionary

Language Learning
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In an incredible feat of memory, college lecturer Li Yanzhi, 51, recited every word of an English-Chinese dictionary, a total of 220,000 words.

The 51-year-old business English lecturer in the School of Finance and Economics at Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, started to recite the entire content of an English-Chinese dictionary on August 6, 2013, and completed the task 19 days later.

Since that first recitation, she has performed the task 28 times.

How long does it take?

For the past two years, Li has risen from her bed at 3 am to spend six hours memorizing the words in the dictionary to refresh her memory. She also read 465 English language magazines that she borrowed from the school’s library.

Techniques

Li developed 11 kinds of memory methods to memorize English words and has taught them to her students.

This is the only source I could find:
http://www.china.org.cn/china/2015-04/10/content_35286216.htm

See also: How Do I Memorize a Dictionary? and Dr. Yip Swee Chooi on Memorizing a 1774-page Chinese-English Dictionary.

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Wow :heart_eyes:

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Well, I have 3 systems to memorize dictionaries letter by letter, in some cases not letter by letter if I use a combination with the substitute word, since the 3 systems mentioned also have to be worked separately or on the fly which is how I do it, the palaces can be imaginary or real.

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Hi Magno, how are you? I heard that you use 3 amazing systems to memorize dictionaries, including combining methods like word substitution and the use of memory palaces, whether real or imaginary. I found this fascinating and believe it could be very useful for me, especially in my studies or challenges involving memory.

I would really like to learn these techniques from you. Could you explain how the systems you use work? If it’s more practical, we could start with a simple example so I can understand the basics and then move on to something more complex. I’m very interested and willing to practice to learn how you do it.

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The system is simple e.g. set up a list of: Men, Women, Animals, Contextual Objects and Places (extract a contextual object e.g. airport an airplane), this list goes from A to Z.

To memorize the complete system only takes 1 day, if it is too much overload use 5 days, place each set in only one loci or place that is to say the 5 in compocision, it does not matter if you do not know the character memorize it in the place you can do it with all I always do it, remember to observe in an orderly way the faces at the beginning for example 1-hair, 2-forehead, 3-eyebrows, 4-eyelashes and eyes, 5-nose, etc…, after you have a good visualization or it is easy to pay attention to each one you can use the split visualization (i.e. grouping a set of data) this happens the same day, but you should make an effort on one at a time and then move on to grouping.

Now in English fishing for a word with this system can be intuitive, since you only fish for 3 or 4 letters based on the sounds that most evoke the whole word: Mitochondria - M,I,C - A monkey, frozen in ice, being choked.

The other letter systems are more advanced e.g. syllables from A to Z e.g. Aa, Ae, Ai, etc., and double consonants such as AA, AB, AC, etc.

You can also use intuitive images to represent letters e.g. a bee is a Be or a B, so you can use the system of pietro da ravenna to fish for words, you can use the system in combination with others e.g. substitute word, string, poetic places (created from imagination as a story or painting composed of images), etc., the combination of systems can help you with information you need to memorize like the combination of the alphabetic system, substitute words and the method of poetic places using the chain like “Henry cavil kills a hawk with an axe in a hospital (or henry cavil dressed as a doctor) and hilary swank is surprised when he is splashed with the bird’s blood” = HHHH, also have actions or postures that denote the vowels like prostrate, leaning, sitting, reclining and lying down.

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Thank you for your response. These techniques are very interesting.
Since I’m a beginner, I had some doubts about the following points:

About Creating Category Lists:
How exactly should I organize the lists of Men, Women, Animals, Contextual Objects, and Places from A to Z? Should I choose specific names and objects for each letter, or is there a recommended methodology for selecting these items?

Association with Locations (Loci):
How many locations (loci) should I use for each letter of the alphabet? And how can I ensure that these locations are sufficiently distinct to avoid confusion during memorization?

Divided Visualization:
How do I transition from detailed visualization to grouped visualization? Is there a specific method to ensure that the information is still retained effectively when grouped?

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You will choose the characters from the imbd website or another site of your choice which can be fantasy, literature, etc., I prefer movie actors.

As for the order is alphabetical and would only take 26 loci, this to learn the sets of Man, woman, animal, object, action (affection or emotions).

If you are a beginner it takes 4 days to learn the system as the level of experience is also a base for the system, so start with a reduced list of three sets and then increase as you feel comfortable i.e. start with Characters of any gender, animal and object, then adjust for male, female and contextual place.

To go from selective to grouped visualization depends a lot on your level of visualization, as I can see a whole face and remember it just by using the pins I use to memorize the names.

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How practical is memorizing a dictionary? Li Yanzhi reciting a dictionary verbatim is certainly impressive, but does knowing the page and entry for each word in a dictionary mean that if one sees a word in another context, one will really know it? I have several Chinese English dictionaries left from my study of the language decades ago, and as I try to return to some of the old books I realize how much I’ve lost. I’ve been thinking about memorizing one of my own dictionaries to reduce my reliance on dictionary apps, which are much more convenient than the old way of looking up a word but still a frustrating reminder of the toll time has taken.

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Hopefully you’re learning context sentences with each word, otherwise good luck using them right.

I guess the benefit is if it allows you to notice patterns in how words are build, family of words and such.

Learning definitions (like in a monolingual dictionary) seems pretty useful too, for deeper understanding.

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I think the system is interesting but based on this explanation I’m at a loss of how to begin. Have you considered a video or some other form of explication? Thanks!

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where i can learn how to english memorize dictionary?

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what book should i read to learn how to memorize grammar?