Historiographia Linguistica - Online First

The publication of Wilhelm Lobscheid’s (1822–1893) English and Chinese Dictionary, with the Punti and Mandarin Pronunciation (1866–1869) marked a turning point in the history of English-Chinese lexicography. This article traces the genealogy of Lobscheid’s English and Chinese Dictionary by examining its multiple sources and discusses how the lexicographical tradition of English-Chinese dictionaries was built on previous dictionaries in the East and the West.

James Summers (1828–1891) is distinguished as the first professor of Chinese in Britain to conduct systematic research on the Chinese language. During his tenure as a Chinese professor, Summers’s research on the Chinese language demonstrated a pronounced didactic emphasis. This was evident in his departure from rigidly following linguistic theories, his adoption of diverse linguistic ideas and methodologies from scholars of varied backgrounds, and his inclusion of multiple varieties of Chinese as target languages, particularly Nanjing Mandarin. Summers’s early missionary work in China, along with his role at King’s College London, where he trained student interpreters for the British Foreign Office, greatly shaped his pedagogical focus. The didactic feature of his works aligns with the broader pragmatic approach of British sinology, reflecting the trend of recruiting retired missionaries and diplomats with experience in China into European university faculties after the mid-19th century.

This article presents an integrated perspective on the history of Chinese linguistics in Europe by examining the interplay of logistic, material, and institutional factors. Asking how knowledge related to the Chinese language was obtained, diffused, and preserved, it examines linguistic historiography through the prism of accessibility to China and its resulting corollaries for formulating and testing hypotheses about the Chinese language. The nineteenth century is seen as a time of professionalisation characterized by increased opportunities for engagement with China and its language, the creation of academic positions and teaching programs, technical advances in digraphic printing, and the return of competent speakers of the Chinese language.