A Key to Learning Chinese: The Dictionary Hán-tzé-sin-yih and the Anglophone Students in Canton, 1805–1815

Abstract

The Chinese-Latin dictionary Hán-tzé-sin-yih 漢字西譯 (Western translation of Chinese characters, H-t-s-y) was compiled by the Italian Franciscan Basilio Brollo de Gemona 葉尊孝/葉宗賢 (1648–1704). During the period from its completion in the late 17th century to the publication of Robert Morrison’s A Dictionary of the Chinese Language, H-t-s-y was widely circulated in manuscript format and was the major reference used by Westerners learning Chinese. Based on newly discovered archival sources, the present paper attempts to examine the historical importance of H-t-s-y by pursuing three lines of inquiry. First, it investigates the transcription and circulation of H-t-s-y in Canton in 1805–1815 and give an account of how the manuscript copies differ from one another. Second, it analyses the “Chinese elements” of H-t-s-y by examining its entries and illustrative quotations (in Latin transliteration) and investigating their sources. Third, it explores, from the perspective of Chinese-Western contacts connected with the Canton trade, the learning situations of the Anglophone students.