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Article published In: Historiographia Linguistica
Vol. 45:3 (2018) ► pp.263–288

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A remarkable compilation shift

A genealogical study of Medhurst’s Chinese and English Dictionary (1842–1843)

 | Aarhus University
 | Aarhus University
Published online: 1 February 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.00027.li
Summary
During his work on his Chinese and English Dictionary (. 1842. Chinese and English Dictionary: Containing all the words in the Chinese imperial dictionary, arranged according to the radicals. (Vol. I1). Batavia: Printed at Parapattan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar–. 1843. Chinese and English Dictionary: Containing all the words in the Chinese imperial dictionary, arranged according to the radicals. (Vol.21). Batavia: Printed at Parapattan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) Walter Henry Medhurst (1796–1857) dramatically changed his compilation strategy by shifting from depending almost exclusively on Robert Morrison’s (1782–1834) Chinese-English dictionary, Zidian 字典 (Morrison, Robert. 1815–1823. Dictionary of the Chinese Language in Three Parts. Macau: Printed at the Honorable East India Company’s Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) to depending on multiple sources including Kangxi zidian 康熙字典 (Zhang, Yushu 張玉書 , eds. 1716. 康熙字典 Kangxi zidian [Kangxi Classic of Characters]. Beijing: Neifu.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), Morrison’s Wuche yunfu 五車韻府 (Vol, I, Part 2–. 五車韻府 [Erudition Syllabic Dictionary] Chinese and English arranged alphabetically (1819).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar–Vol, II, Part 2–. 五車韻府 [Erudition Syllabic Dictionary] Chinese and English arranged alphabetically (1820).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), and Medhurst’s own A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language (. 1832. A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language, according to the reading and colloquial idioms: containing about 12,000 characters, the sounds and tones of which are accurately marked: and various examples of their use, taken generally from approved Chinese authors: accompanied by a short historical and statistical account of Hok-këèn: a treatise on the orthography of the Hok-këèn dialect. Macao: East India Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). By applying Lexicographic Archaeology to four linguistic case studies, this article discusses the reasons for this unusual lexicographical phenomenon. The authors argue that changes in information in Morrison’s Zidian after the 41st radical influenced Medhurst’s choices.
Résumé
En compilant son Chinese and English Dictionary (. 1842. Chinese and English Dictionary: Containing all the words in the Chinese imperial dictionary, arranged according to the radicals. (Vol. I1). Batavia: Printed at Parapattan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar–. 1843. Chinese and English Dictionary: Containing all the words in the Chinese imperial dictionary, arranged according to the radicals. (Vol.21). Batavia: Printed at Parapattan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), Walter Henry Medhurst (1796–1857) a totalement changé de stratégie, passant d’une dépendance quasi-exclusive au dictionnaire chinois-anglais de Robert Morrison (Zidian 字典 [Morrison, Robert. 1815–1823. Dictionary of the Chinese Language in Three Parts. Macau: Printed at the Honorable East India Company’s Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar]) à une dépendance à plusieurs autres sources, parmi lesquelles le Kangxi zidian 字典 (Zhang, Yushu 張玉書 , eds. 1716. 康熙字典 Kangxi zidian [Kangxi Classic of Characters]. Beijing: Neifu.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), le Wuche yunfu 五車韻府 (Vol, I, Part 2–. 五車韻府 [Erudition Syllabic Dictionary] Chinese and English arranged alphabetically (1819).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar–Vol, II, Part 2–. 五車韻府 [Erudition Syllabic Dictionary] Chinese and English arranged alphabetically (1820).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) de Morrison et son propre Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language (. 1832. A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language, according to the reading and colloquial idioms: containing about 12,000 characters, the sounds and tones of which are accurately marked: and various examples of their use, taken generally from approved Chinese authors: accompanied by a short historical and statistical account of Hok-këèn: a treatise on the orthography of the Hok-këèn dialect. Macao: East India Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). En appliquant l’archéologie lexicographique à quatre études de cas linguistiques, cet article discute les raisons de ce phénomène lexicographique inhabituel. Les auteurs soutiennent que les changements d’information dans le Zidian de Morrison après le 41ème radical ont influencé les choix de Medhurst.
Zusammenfassung
Während seiner Arbeit am Chinese and English Dictionary (. 1842. Chinese and English Dictionary: Containing all the words in the Chinese imperial dictionary, arranged according to the radicals. (Vol. I1). Batavia: Printed at Parapattan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar–. 1843. Chinese and English Dictionary: Containing all the words in the Chinese imperial dictionary, arranged according to the radicals. (Vol.21). Batavia: Printed at Parapattan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) hat sich Walter Henry Medhursts (1796–1857) Kompilierungsstrategie grundlegend geändert. Ab dem ersten Teil konsultierte er nicht länger ausschließlich das chinesisch-englische Wörterbuch Zidian 字典 (Morrison, Robert. 1815–1823. Dictionary of the Chinese Language in Three Parts. Macau: Printed at the Honorable East India Company’s Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) von Robert Morrison (1782–1834), sondern auch andere Quellen, wie das chinesische Wörterbuch Kangxi zidian 康熙字典 (Zhang, Yushu 張玉書 , eds. 1716. 康熙字典 Kangxi zidian [Kangxi Classic of Characters]. Beijing: Neifu.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), Morrisons Wuche yunfu 五車韻府 (Vol, I, Part 2–. 五車韻府 [Erudition Syllabic Dictionary] Chinese and English arranged alphabetically (1819).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar–Vol, II, Part 2–. 五車韻府 [Erudition Syllabic Dictionary] Chinese and English arranged alphabetically (1820).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) sowie sein eigenes A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language (. 1832. A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language, according to the reading and colloquial idioms: containing about 12,000 characters, the sounds and tones of which are accurately marked: and various examples of their use, taken generally from approved Chinese authors: accompanied by a short historical and statistical account of Hok-këèn: a treatise on the orthography of the Hok-këèn dialect. Macao: East India Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Der Beitrag diskutiert die Gründe für dieses ungewöhnliche lexikographische Phänomen anhand von vier Fallstudien, wobei die Methode der lexikographischen Archäologie angewendet wird. Der Beitrag weist nach, dass Veränderungen in Morrisons Zidian direkten Einfluss auf Medhursts Entscheidungen hatten.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The relations between Medhurst’s two main sources for his dictionary
  • 3.Case studies for examining Medhurst’s compilation shift
    • 3.1Case study 1: The anonymous reviewer’s 46th radical
    • 3.2Case study 2: Expanded samples
    • 3.3Case study 3: A boundary radical
    • 3.4Case study 4: Medhurst’s sources after the 41st radical
  • 4.Causes for the shift
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (32)
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