Chinese chrestomathy in the Canton dialect.

A$10,000 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Macao : S. Wells Williams, [1839-] 1841. Quarto, contemporary leather boards rebacked in calf; front pastedown with old collection label of King s College, University of London, front free-endpaper with early ownership inscription of J. R. Reeves; title leaf with a few discrete paper repairs to the outer margins, pp. [8], xxxvi, 698; 2 folding leaves of Chinese characters printed recto only on rice paper; a few leaves with pencilled annotations, else very clean throughout. The first manual of the Cantonese dialect. The Chinese Chrestomathy was, in the context of the times, a masterfully arranged compilation which provided not only an excellent guide to the grammar and usages of the Cantonese dialect but served as a storehouse of valuable information ona variety of subjects for both Chinese and Westerners (Lazich). This chrestomathy was commenced under the auspices of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in China . It is the first manual of the Cantonese dialect. According to the preface, J.R. Morrison revised large portions of Bridgman s manuscript, Robert Thom prepared the 5th and 6th sections on commercial affairs, and S. Wells Williams the chapters on natural history and the index (Löwendahl). Elijah Coleman Bridgman was the first American Protestant Christian missionary appointed to China. Cordier, Sinica, 1684; Löwendahl, China illustrata nova , 958; Lust 1059; Lazich, E. C. Bridgman (1801-1861): America s First Missionary to China , pp. 156-64

• Binding: Hardcover

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