Mashi Wentong
Encyclopedia
Mashi Wentong is the first grammar
of the Chinese language
written by a Chinese scholar, Ma Jianzhong
, who published it in 1898. Although attributed the "germination of modern linguistics in China" is attributed to this book, Mashi Wentong was criticized by critics such as Chen Chengze and Li Jinxi as imitating Western grammar and imposing Western grammatical tradition on Chinese.
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
of the Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
written by a Chinese scholar, Ma Jianzhong
Ma Jianzhong
Ma Jianzhong was a Chinese official and scholar during the Qing dynasty.Ma was born in Dantu , Jiangsu province to a prominent Chinese Catholic family. After studies at a French Catholic school in Shanghai, Ma went to France in 1876 to study international law...
, who published it in 1898. Although attributed the "germination of modern linguistics in China" is attributed to this book, Mashi Wentong was criticized by critics such as Chen Chengze and Li Jinxi as imitating Western grammar and imposing Western grammatical tradition on Chinese.