East and West in Classical Chinese

[WKC]

I see online Chinese - English dictionay translations of east and west as follows:

 

左 - left; east

 

右 - right; west

 

I'd be grateful if anyone could point to any classical Chinese dictionary or text that provides the definition of east and west for the characters 左 and 右. 

[Wurstmann]

http://www.zdic.net/z/19/js/5DE6.htm

"地理上指东方：山～。江～。"

[lips]

If you want classical Chinese dictionary, neither kangxizidian 康熙字典 or shouwenjiezi 说文解字 has 左丶右 meaning east, west respectively. However, in older times, Chinese geography put the direction "south" at the top. So east is to the left and west is to the right, and 左丶右 are understood to represent east and west respectively, but the actual meaning of the characters do not include the directions.

[WKC]

Thanks.  Most interesting.  The map orientation does tie in with the south pointing needle.

 

If anyone is interested in a modern dictionary, the 漢語大字典 provides the definition of east and west for 左 and 右.  

[lips]

It is interesting that while 左丶右 meaning east, west were used only in older times and not in modern times, the older dictionaries did not include such definitions, whereas the modern dictionaries do.