Language Self-Abode Collection

Author: (British) Wade T.F.
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-04-01
Features: The second edition of "A Systematic Treatise on the Chinese Language" by the British Wade, published in 1886, was an authoritative textbook on Beijing dialect at the time. It systematically records the phonetic system of Mandarin Chinese in the mid-19th century. As a textbook, it emphasizes phonetics, Chinese characters, vocabulary, and reading, with over 1,500 annotations providing rich linguistic, social, and cultural background knowledge, making its value far exceed that of a textbook. The article discusses some issues in the study of Chinese and challenges the claim that "Beijing pronunciation has been the standard for at least six hundred years."