A Study On The Textbooks Of Chinese Languagein The Meiji Period

There is a long history in the study of Chinese language in Japan, leaving an abundance of linguistic data behind. The Meiji period was pivotal to the development of modern Japan. Out of diplomatic and military reasons, there was a craze of learning Chinese (mainly Peking mandarin), generating a number of new Chinese mandarin textbooks. These textbooks covered such comprehensive aspects as daily conversation, rhythm and pronunciation, comparative language teaching, Chinese and Japanese translation, etc. The contents encompassed commercial, political, military affairs, survey, culture, produce, conventions and customs, serving both as elementary textbooks and as readings for Japanese to know China from the general to the in-depth level. They were tremendous conveniences and help for Japanese to know the language and its country. Besides, the conversations were concerned with Chinese life in the late Qing, such as foreign trade, Westerners’privileges, opium trade and consumption, Peking local culture and the like. The social, economic and cultural changes, and their consequent linguistic ones as prompted by the Western forces were also reflected in these textbooks. It is therefore a unique source material of studying late Qing from lenses of the Other.This dissertation intends to discuss the textbooks in six chapters.Chapter one introduces the significance of studying the textbooks, their compilation and publication. It also surveys related studies among Japanese and Chinese scholars, highlighting the fact that the study has never been conducted throughhistoriographicaland philological disciplines, their combination thus making the innovation of this dissertation.Chapter two is an overview of the mandarin in the Ming and Qing China and the textbooks of Chinese language in the East and West. It has two parts:part one reviews mandarin, its standardized pronunciation and the perceptions of Peking mandarin among modern Eastern and Western scholars; part two introduces the categories and characteristics of mandarin in the Korean times, the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Edo period, in an attempt to argue that the mandarin variations were resulted from a domestic absence of unified pronunciation.Chapter three starts from the overview of textbooks in the Meiji period, focusing on the analysis of stages, category and editing faculty. There are four stages:earlier inheriting of Tang Hua; imitation and adaptation of Yu-yen Tsu-Erh Chi; independent compiling stage and war effort stage. The onset of the First Sino-Japanese War brought a surge of editing and publication in Japan, during which emerged not only textbooks of the Peking mandarin, but also Shanghai dialect, Taiwan dialect(essentially Minnan dialect) and Northeastern mandarin or Manchu dialect, paving way for its subsequent invasion schemes. Other compilations included YanJing Fnyu, Yanyu Xinbian customized for Japanese women in China. The textbook compilers were varied specialists, among them nativeChinesemostly hired in the compilation and review for the sake of quality.Chapter four elaborates on the social landscape in the late Qing China as reflected in the Meiji period. By samplingThe Guide to KuanHua, Chats in Chinese, Guanhua Jijivpian, Peking was portrayed in its daily life, customs, politics and foreign affairs, economy and trade. It alsofeatures a historiographical exploration of their philological value.Chapter five turns to the linguistic concerns, including phonetics, vocabulary, grammar in an effort to reveal the characteristics of Peking mandarin. It has four parts. Part one is a phonetic look at Japanese scholars’view on the phonetic perception of Peking mandarin, as well as the tones system, modified tones, and inflection reflected in these textbooks. Part two is on the new or frequent words, affixes as applied in choices of daily words, appellation, spoken words, and loanwords. Part three deals with the utility of pronouns, and adverb "suo". Part four is a syntax analysis on interrogative, disposal and passive sentences. The grammar streak indicates that Peking mandarin in the late Qing was a transformative period from modern Chinese to contemporary Chinese. The textbooks thus opened a new field for the study of modern Chinese.Chapter six concludes with the significance of studying textbooks in the Meiji period in relation to modern Chinese study and compilation of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. It also points out the weaknesses of the dissertation and its concerns for further research.Teaching Chinese language in the Meiji period was a substantial component in its worldwide picture. The textbooks not only reflected the transition from Nanking to Peking mandarin, but closely attached to the ambition-driven Japanese military expansion which turned into history in later decades. Besides, the textbooks were a mirror of late Qing Chinese society, offering an authentic picture of the changes in modern China as witnessed from the outsiders.