© SHESL/EDP Sciences

1 Preface

Descriptions of Chinese are divided into three types: (a) descriptions of Chinese by Chinese; (b) descriptions of Chinese by non-Chinese; (c) descriptions of non-Chinese languages by Chinese. Descriptions in (a) are well known as xiǎoxué 小學, and they include a vast body of materials on phonology (yīnyùn 音韻), grammatology (wénzì 文字), and exegetics (xùngǔ 訓詁) after the Han 漢 Dynasty (BCE 206–CE 220). Those in (b) comprise so-called ‘outer sources’, which include, in addition to the earliest examples of the materials in inner Asian languages like Tibetan discovered at Dūnhuáng 敦煌¹, various materials such as Korean, Japanese, and Western sources².

The representative materials of (c) are a group of yìyǔ 譯語 ‘translation words’, specifically the Zhìyuán yìyǔ 至元譯語 [Translation words of the Zhìyuán period] in the Yuan 元 Dynasty and Huáyí yìyǔ 華夷譯語 [Translation words between China and the Barbarians] in the Ming 明 Dynasty. These groups consist of the following:

• 1

  Zhìyuán yìyǔ 至元譯語: phonetic transcriptions of foreign words with Chinese characters and their Chinese translations.

• 2

  Huáyí yìyǔ 華夷譯語, Type A: zázì 雜字, phonetic transcriptions of foreign words with Chinese characters and their Chinese translations; láiwén 來文, phonetic transcriptions of sentences in foreign languages with Chinese characters and their Chinese translations.

• 3

  Huáyí yìyǔ 華夷譯語, Type B: zázì, foreign words in their native script, phonetic transcriptions with Chinese characters, and their Chinese translations; láiwén, sentences in foreign languages in their native script and their Chinese translations.

• 4

  Huáyí yìyǔ 華夷譯語, Type C: phonetic transcriptions of foreign words with Chinese characters and their Chinese translations.

The Zhìyuán Yìyǔ, alias the Měnggǔ Yìyǔ 蒙古譯語 [Translation words in Mongolian], is a Mongolian-Chinese bilingual vocabulary book composed in the Zhìyuán 至元 period (1264–1274) during the Yuan Dynasty, which belongs to an encyclopaedia, the Shìlín Guǎngjì 事林廣記 [Extensive description of various things]. This book contains Mongolian words written in phonetic transcription with Chinese characters. The Huáyí Yìyǔ are divided into three types³. Type A includes Mongolian-Chinese bilingual textbooks composed in the Hóngwǔ 洪武 period (1368–1398) during the Ming Dynasty, divided into two groups: (1) zázì 雜字, Mongolian words written in phonetic transcription with Chinese characters corresponding to Chinese words; and (2) láiwén 來文, Mongolian decrees written in phonetic transcription with Chinese characters and two kinds of Chinese translation − literal and free. Type B includes bilingual textbooks used in the Sìyíguǎn 四夷館, which managed the translation of diplomatic documents, established in the Yǒnglè 永樂 period (1403–1424)⁴, containing the original characters of each language in both zázì and láiwén. Type C is bilingual vocabulary books used in the Huìtóngguăn 會同館, which had been established in the Hóngzhì 弘治 period (1488–1505)⁵ to manage the entertainment of the diplomatic corps of foreign countries; the style of these books is similar to that of the Zhìyuán Yìyǔ.

These yìyǔ primarily comprise zázì, i.e. vocabulary, and láiwén, i.e. example sentences. The transcriptions with Chinese characters belong to the academic field of phonology, so descriptions of non-Chinese languages by Chinese scholars before the Ming Dynasty remain at the stage of phonology, vocabulary, and examples, with no descriptions of ‘grammar’.

There are Manchu grammar books published in Beijing dating from the Qing 清 Dynasty including materials that systematically describe non-Chinese grammar in pre-modern China. These consist of several Manchu textbooks written by Chinese scholars which were published for the Manchu Eight Banners, many of whose members had lost their mother tongue — Manchu — and spoke Chinese as their native language after the Manchu court made Beijing the capital of the Qing Dynasty (1644)⁶. Most authors of these books were considered bilingual in Chinese and Manchu. According to our survey, more than 10 grammar books were published in the Qing Dynasty as follows⁷:

• (I)

  Fānqīng Xūzì Jiăngyuē 翻清虚字講約 [Translation rules of Manchu function words], the third part of Qīngshū Zhǐnán 清書指南 [Handbook of the Manchu language]: the author is Shén Jǐliàng 沈啓亮 (1645–1693); there is an afterword dated Kāngxī 康煕 21 (1682).

• (II)

  Zìwěi Lèi 字尾類 [the part of suffixes], the 32nd part of the Mǎnhàn Lèishū 滿漢類書 [Encyclopaedia of Manchu and Chinese]: the author is Sāng’é 桑額 (?–1712); there is a preface dated Kāngxī 39 (1700).

• (III)

  XūzìJiǎngyuē 虚字講約 [Rules of function words], the first part of the Qīngwén Bèikǎo 清文備考 [Remarks on Manchu]: the author is Zàigǔ 載穀 (years of birth and death are unknown); there is a preface dated Kāngxī 61 (1722).

• (IV)

  Qīngwén ZhùyǔXūzì 清文助語虚字 [Function words of the Manchu language], the third part of MǎnhànzìQīngwén Qǐméng 滿漢字清文啓蒙 [Essentials of the Manchu language with Manchu-Chinese bilingual style]: the author is Wǔgé舞格 (years of birth and death are unknown); there is a preface dated Yōngzhèng 雍正8 (1730).

• (V)

  QīngyǔYìyán 清語易言 [Easy speaking of the Manchu language]: The author is Bóhè 博赫 (years of birth and death are unknown); there is a preface dated Qiānlóng 乾隆 31 (1766).

• (VI)

  Qīngwén Zhǐyào 清文指要 [Principles of the Manchu language],⁸ the first part of SānhéBiànlǎn 三合便覧 [Handbook in trilingual contrast style]: the author is Fùjùn 富俊 (1749–1834); there is a preface dated Qiānlóng 45 (1780).

• (VII)

  Měngwén Fǎchéng 蒙文法程 [Rules of the Mongolian language], the third part of Měngwén Xīyì 蒙文晰義 [Analysis of the Mongolian language]: the author is Sàishàng’ā 賽尚阿 (1794?–1875); there is a preface dated Dàoguāng 道光 28 (1848).⁹

• (VII)

  Qīngwén Jiězì 清文接字 [Function words of the Manchu language]: the author is Sōng Luòfēng 嵩洛峰 (years of birth and death are unknown); there is an afterword dated Tóngzhì 同治 5 (1866).¹⁰

• (IX)

  Qīngwén XūzìZhǐnánbiān 清文虛字指南編 [Handbook of Manchu function words]: the author of this book is Wànfú 萬福 (years of birth and death are unknown); there is a preface dated Guāngxù 光緒 10 (1884).¹¹

• (X)

  ZìfǎJǔyīgē 字法舉一歌 [A song of rules on words]: the author is Xú Lóngtài 徐隆泰 (years of birth and death are unknown); there is a preface dated Guāngxù 11 (1885).

The books listed above all refer to Manchu function words named xūzì 虚字, zhùyǔ 助語, or jiēzì 接字. In this paper, we analyse features of the grammatical descriptions of Manchu grammar from the Qing Dynasty. Chinese, which belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family, is a typical isolating language. In contrast, Manchu belongs to the Altaic language family and is a typical agglutinating language. Manchu grammars indicate how people in Beijing who were bilingual in Chinese and Manchu gave Chinese terms to grammatical concepts in Manchu such as case, conjugation, and derivation, which exist in agglutinating languages but not in isolating languages.

2 The Texts

We focus on two grammar books as materials reflecting the grammatical description of the Manchu language in the early period: (I) Fānqīng Xūzì Jiǎngyuē (abbr. FXJ), and (IV) Qīngwén Zhùyǔ Xūzì (abbr. QZX)¹². The following is a brief introduction to these two books:

2.1 Fānqīng Xūzì Jiǎngyuē (FXJ)

Qīngshū Zhǐnán, the Manchu name is Manju bithe i jy nan¹³. The author is Shén Jǐliàng 沈啓亮 (1645–1693); there is an afterword dated Kāngxī 康煕 21 (1682) at the end of the book¹⁴. In several texts, this book has a Manchu-Chinese dictionary appendix Dàqīng Quánshū 大清全書 [Complete book of the Great Qing] (1683) by the same author¹⁵.

Qīngshū Zhǐnán contains three volumes: the first volume consists of the Shí’èr Zìtóu 十二字頭 [Twelve characters] and the Zhùyì Déxǐ Wūzhū 註義德喜烏朱 [Commentary on 40 sentences]; the second volume is the Mǎnzhōu Záhuà 滿洲雜話 [Conversations in Manchu]; and the third volume is the FXJ. The Shí’èr Zìtóu is a Manchu syllable table, the Zhùyì Déxǐ Wūzhū is a commentary on 40 short Manchu sentences¹⁶, and the Mǎnzhōu Záhuà contains Manchu conversations¹⁷.

The Manchu name of the FXJ is Bithe ubaliyambure be de i hergen be giyangnara oyonggo, containing 14 pages, and the author explains the following 67 Manchu ‘function words’ xūzì虚字:

(1) -be; (2) -de; (3) -i, -ni; (4) -ra, -re, -ro; (5) -la, -le, -lo; (6) -ka, -ha, -ke, -he, -ko, -ho; (7) -me; (8) -fi; (9) -pi; (10) bi; (11) bifi, bici, bisire; (12) bihe; (13) bihe bici; (14) bihebi; (15) ombi; (16) -mbi; (17) -o; (18) ume; (19) -ci; (20) se; (21) -ki; (22) -kini; (23) -bu; (24) -mbu; (25) -so, -su, -cina, -fu, -nu; (26) -ša, -še, -ja, -je, -šo; (27) -kiya, -hiya, -kiye, -hiye; (28) -ca, -ce, -du, -nu, -cu, -ne; (29) unggi, tuwanggi, bonggi, gonggi; (30) manggi; (31) ohode; (32) jakade; (33) -na, -ne, -ji; (34) -reo; (35) -mbio, -bio, -kao, -hao, -keo, -heo, -nio; (36) -rangge, -rengge, -rongge, -kangge, -hangge, -hūngge, -kengge, -hengge; (37) -rakū, -kakū, -hakū, -kekū, -hekū; (38) -rahū, ayoo; (39) -sa; (40) -te; (41) -da; (42) kai; (43) -ken, -kan, -hei, -hai, -hoi, -pi, -kon; (44) aikabade; (45) udu seme, udu bicibe, udu cibe; (46) hono bade; (47) tere anggala; (48) tere dade; (49) dere; (50) dabala, gojime; (51) nememe; (52) -tala, -tele, -tolo; (53) -gala, -gele; (54) maka; (55) aika; (56) aise; (57) mene; (58) jaci; (59) eitereci; (60) tetendere; (61) ere; (62) ainci; (63) eici; (64) -cuka, -cuke; (65) uttu; (66) tuttu; (67) esi.

Because the Manchu language has vowel harmony, several suffixes have variants like (4) -ra, -re and -ro; each section includes these variants.

Each section contains explanations of the meaning, usage, and orthography of each Manchu word and examples of its use. For example, the beginning part of the section on Manchu accusative case suffix -be is as follows:

be: Xūzì jiě, jí hànwén jiāng zì, bǎ zì; shízì jiě, wǒděng, quèshí’ěr, guǐ. 虚字解, 即漢文將字, 把字；實字解, 我等, 雀食餌, 軌。 [If we explain it as a function word, it is the Chinese words ‘jiang’, ‘ba’; if we explain it as a substantive word, it means ‘we’, ‘feed of sparrow’, and ‘spoke’.]

Rú yún bǎ cǐ wù rúhé, jí yún, 如云把此物如何, 即云, [For example, ‘what to do this thing’, we say,] ere jaka be¹⁸.

Jiāng cǐ rén rúhé, jí yún, 將此人如何, 即云, [‘What to do this person’, we say,] ere niyalma be¹⁹. (FXJ 1a3–4)

In the above quote, the author first explains the meaning of Manchu be as a function word xūzì 虚字 or as a content word shízì 實字, and then gives several examples using the morpheme -be and its Chinese translation after the phrase rú yún 如云²⁰.

2.2 Qīngwén Zhùyǔ Xūzì (QZX)

The Mǎnhànzì Qīngwén Qǐméng, named Manju nikan hergen i cing wen ki meng bithe in Manchu, was the most famous and most widely-used Manchu textbook in the Qing Dynasty because it contained the widest variety of texts among similar Manchu textbooks²¹. Prominent Orientalists of the 19th century such as J. P. Abel-Rémusat (1788–1832), J. H. Klaproth (1783–1835), and G. von der Gabelentz (1840–1893) studied the Manchu language with this book²².

The author of this book is Wǔgé舞格 (years of birth and death are unknown), and it contains a preface dated Yōngzhèng 雍正8 (1730) written by Chéng Míngyuǎn 程明遠²³. This textbook contains four volumes: The first covers Manchu characters and phonology, like the Mǎnzhōu Shí’èr Zìtóu Dānzì Liánzì Zhǐnán滿洲十二字頭單字聯字指南 [Handbook of the single and combined usage of 12 Manchu characters], Qiēyùn Qīngzì切韻清字 [Phonological analysis of Manchu characters], etc.; the second, conversation, Jiānhàn Mǎnzhōu Tàohuà 兼漢滿洲套話 [Manchu conversation with Chinese translation]; the third, grammar, QZX; and the fourth, synonyms and similar characters, Qīngzì Biànsì 清字辨似 [Similar Manchu characters] and Qīngyǔ Jiěsì 清語解似 [Manchu synonyms]. This book was well prepared, making it easy to study the Manchu language.

The Manchu name of the QZX is Manju bithei gisun de aisilara mudan i hergen. It contains 60 pages in which the author explains 99 Manchu function words, zhùyǔ xūzì 助語虚字 in Chinese, and it contains 152 common expressions and their Chinese translations²⁴. The Manchu function words in this book are:

(1) -de; (2) -deo; (3) -be; (4) -beo; (5) -i; (6) -ni; (7) -nio; (8) -ga, -go, -ge; (9) -ningge, -ingge; (10) kai; (11) -me; (12) -ki; (13) -ci; (14) -deri; (15) aikabade; (16) aika; (17) -fi; (18) ofi; (19) -pi; (20) -ka, -ha, -ko, -ho, -ke, -he; (21) -kao, -hao, -koo, -hoo, -keo, -heo; (22) -kangge, -hangge, -kongge, -hongge, -kengge, -hengge; (23) -kanggeo, -hanggeo, -konggeo, -honggeo, -kenggeo, -henggeo; (24) bi; (25) -kabi, -habi, -kobi, -hobi, -kebi, -hebi; (26) -ra, -re, -ro; (27) -reo, -roo; (28) -range, -rengge, -rongge; (29) -ranggeo, -renggeo, -ronggeo; (30) -mbi; (31) -mbio, bio; (32) -rakū; (33) -rakūn; (34) -rakūngge; (35) -rakūnggeo; (36) -kakū, -hakū, -kekū, -hekū; (37) -kakūn, -hakūn, -kekūn, -hekūn; (38) -kakūngge, -hakūngge, -kekūngge, -hekūngge; (39) -kakūnggeo, -hakūnggeo, -kekūnggeo, -hekūnggeo; (40) -gala, -gele; (41) doigonde; (42) onggolo; (43) na, ne, no, ya; (44) -kini; (45) -cina; (46) -nu, -so, -su, -fu; (47) -ju; (48) -sa, -se, -si, -ta, -te; (49) -hori, -hūri, -huri; (50) -la, -le; (51) -ta, -te, -to; (52) mudan, mari; (53) -dari; (54) -geri; (55) tome; (56) jiya, jiye; (57) -hai, -hoi, -hei; (58) -hai, -tai, -tei; (59) bai; (60) baibi; (61) -cun; (62) -hon, -hūn, -hun; (63) -cibe; (64) udu; (65) gojime; (66) eitereme; (67) eiterecibe; (68) -tala, -tele, -tolo; (69) -rahū, ayoo; (70) -kan, -kon, -ken, -si, -liyan, -shūn, -shun; (71) jaka, saka; (72) unggi, bonggi, gonggi, tuwanggi; (73) be dahame; (74) tetendere; (75) manggi; (76) nakū; (77) -cuka, -cuke; (78) -cukangga, -cukengge; (79) teile; (80) ebsihe; (81) dule; (82) ainci; (83) aise; (84) dere; (85) dabala; (86) wajiha; (87) hono; (88) bade; (89) ai hendure; (90) anggala; (91) tere anggala; (92) sere anggala; (93) -na, -ne, -no; (94) -ji; (95) -nu, -du, -ca, -ce, -co; (96) -bu; (97) -ša, -še, -šo, -mi, -ce, -ja, -je, -jo; (98) -ša, -še, -ta, -da, -te, -de, -do, -tu, -la, -le, -lo, -mi, -je, -ra, -re, -ro, -niye, -kiya, -giya, -kiye, -hiya, -hiye; (99) -je, -jo.

Each section contains explanations regarding the meaning, usage, and orthography of each Manchu word, as in the FXJ, besides the function words in each example are literal Chinese translations. For example, the beginning part of the section on Manchu accusative case suffix -be is as follows

-be: Bǎ zì, jiāng zì, yě zì; yòu yǐ zì, yòng zì; yòu shǐ zì, lìng zì, jiào zì. Liányòng dānyòng jù kě. Shí jiě wǒmen, yúshí, niǎoshí, niúchē yuántóu héngmù. 把字, 將字, 也字；又以字, 用字；又使字, 令字, 教字。聯用單用倶可。實解我們, 魚食, 鳥食, 牛車轅頭横木。 [It is the words bǎ, jiāng, yě; or the words yǐ, yòng; or the words shǐ, lìng, jiào. It can be use together or single. Substantive meanings of this word are: ‘we’, ‘fish food’, ‘bird feed’, and ‘steering bar of an ox carriage’.]

Rú yún, 如云, [For example,]

terebe gaifi gene²⁵. Jiāng tā lǐngle qù. 將他領了去。 [Take it and go.]

tere be gaju²⁶. Bǎ nàgè nálái. 把那個拿來。 [Bring it.] (QZX 6a3–5)

In the above quote, the author at first explains the meaning of Manchu -be as a function word and notes regarding the orthography: liányòng 聯用means the morpheme is written connected to the end of the preceding word; dānyòng 單用 means it is written separately from the preceding word. In the examples after rú yún 如云, there are literal Chinese translations such as jiāng zì 將字 ‘the word jiāng’ or bǎ zì 把字 ‘the word bǎ’ beside the -be. We can understand that terebe is liányòng and tere be is dānyòng²⁷.

2.3 The relationship between the two books

Since the contents of Manchu function words in FXJ are all covered in QZX, and the descriptions of their meanings and usages in these books provide a certain degree of commonality, as we shall observe later, we can at least agree that the latter book refers to the former. However, there are several differences between FXJ and QZX as follows: (a) there is less content in the FXJ than in the QZX and the latter is more subdivided than the former; (b) the examples in these books have almost no similarity and those in the latter are more colloquial than the former; (c) the explanation style in the QZX is more sophisticated than in the FXJ. We infer that the author of the QZX significantly supplemented and revised the FXJ to make it more practical and easier to understand.

FXJ and QZX seem to be the most representative and influential Manchu grammar books in the early Qing Dynasty, because these two books provided sources for the description in the Orokhae 語録解, which was the section on Manchu grammar in the Manchu-Korean dictionary Dongmun Yuhae 同文類解 (1748) used in the Sayeogwon 司譯院, the institution that trained interpreters in the Chosun Dynasty²⁸.

We will highlight the following two features of the descriptions of Manchu grammar in the FXJ and QZX: (1) descriptions of grammatical meaning and (2) contrasts in arrangement of examples. (1) is common to both books, while (2) is primarily observed in QZX.

3 Descriptions of Grammatical Meaning

Manchu affixes can be divided into case, verbal, and derivational suffixes. As mentioned above, Manchu grammar books from the Qing Dynasty contain explanations and examples of various affixes of Manchu, with a difference between the descriptions of case and verbal suffixes in these books.

3.1 Case suffixes

The Manchu language has nominative, genitive, dative-locative, accusative, instrumental, ablative, and prolative cases²⁹. The descriptions of the case suffixes besides the nominative³⁰ in these books are as follows³¹:

(1) Genitive and instrumental case suffix: -i, -ni ³²

(1a) -i, -ni: Jí hànwén yǐ zì, zhī zì. 即漢文以字, 之字。 [It is the Chinese words yǐ, zhī.] (FXJ 2a5)

(1b) -i: De zì, zhī zì; yòu yǐ zì, yòng zì. 的字, 之字；又以字, 用字。 [It is the words de, zhī; or the words yǐ, yòng.] (QZX 7a5)

(1c) -ni: De zì, zhī zì; yòu yǐ zì, yòng zì. 的字, 之字；又以字, 用字。 [It is the words de, zhī; or the words yǐ, yòng.] (QZX 8a5)

(2) Accusative case suffix: -be

(2a) -be: Jí hànwén jiāng zì, bǎ zì. 即漢文將字, 把字。 [It is the Chinese words jiāng, bǎ.] (FXJ 1a3)

(2b) -be: Bǎ zì, jiāng zì, yě zì; yòu yǐ zì, yòng zì; yòu shǐ zì, lìng zì, jiào zì. 把字, 将字, 也字；又以字, 用字；又使字, 令字, 教字。 [It is the words bǎ, jiāng, yě; or the words yǐ, yòng; or the words shǐ, lìng, jiào.] (QZX 6a3)

(3) Dative-locative case suffix: -de

(3a) -de: Zhí jiù mǒushì mǒuwù shàng shuō yě. Zuò yú zì yì, zuò chù zìyì, zuò shíhòu zìyì, zuò dìfāng zìyì, zuò zài zìyì, zuò ér zìyì. 直就某事某物上説也。作於字意, 作處字意, 作時候字意, 作地方字意, 作在字意, 作而字意。 [It directly states something about certain events or objects. It would be the meaning of the words yú, chù, shíhòu, dìfāng, zài, and ér.] (FXJ 1b5)

(3b) -de: Shíhòu zì; yòu dìfāng zì, chù zì, wǎng zì; yòu gěi zì, yǔ zì; yòu lǐtóu zì, shàngtóu zì, zài zì, yú zì. Nǎi zhuǎn xià shēnmíng yǔ 時候字；又地方字, 處字, 往字；又給字, 與字；又裡頭字, 上頭字, 在字, 於字。乃轉下申明語。 [It is the word shíhòu; or the words dìfāng, chù, wǎng; or the words gěi, yǔ; or the words lǐtóu, shàngtóu, zài, and yú. These words convert and declare something.] (QZX 1a5–6)

(4) Ablative case suffix: -ci

(4a) -ci: Hànwén yóu zì, zì zì, cóng zì, bǐ zì. 漢文由字, 自字, 從字, 比字。 [It is the Chinese words yóu, zì, cóng, and bǐ.] (FXJ 6a6)

(4b) -ci: ... Yòu zì zì, cóng zì, yóu zì;… yòu lí zì; yòu bǐ zì… 又自字, 從字, 由字；……又離字；又比字。 [... Or the words zì, cóng, and yóu; ... or the word lí; ... or the word bǐ.] (QZX 13a5)

(5) Prolative case suffix: -deri

(5a) -deri: Zì zì, cóng zì, yóu zì... Bǐ ci zì cí yì shízài. 自字, 從字, 由字……比ci字詞義實在。 [It is the word zì, cóng, and yóu... The meaning of this word is more substantial than -ci.] (QZX 15b6)

As we can see above, the descriptions of case suffixes in these two books are quite simple, except for a few like Zhí jiù mǒushì mǒuwù shàng shuō yě 直就某事某物上説也, or Nǎi zhuǎn xià shēnmíng yǔ 乃轉下申明語. Only the corresponding Chinese words (most of these are prepositions) are mentioned, like ...zì 字 or ...zì yì 字意.

3.2 Verbal suffixes

Conversely, the descriptions of verbal suffixes are more detailed, describing their grammatical meanings rather than giving Chinese translations. Manchu verbal suffixes are divided into finite, participial, and converbal; the descriptions of representative suffixes related to tense and aspect are as follows:

(6) Non-perfective finite suffix -mbi

(6a) -mbi: Shì hànwén wèirán zhī cí; jié shā yǔ. 是漢文未然之詞；結煞語。 [This Chinese word means what is not yet so; this word can end a sentence.] (FXJ 5b2)

(6b) -mbi: Nǎi jiāngrán wèirán, shā wěi zhī yǔ; bǐ ra, re, ro děng zì, cíyì shízài. 乃将然未然, 煞尾之語；比 ra, re, ro 等字, 詞義實在。 [This word means what will soon be so or is not yet so, and it can end a sentence; the meaning of this word is more significant than the words -ra, -re, -ro etc.] (QZX 25a1)

(7) Perfective finite suffix -habi/-hebi/-hobi

(7a) -habi, -hebi, -hobi: Cǐ yòng bi zì shā jiǎo zhě, nǎi yíshì zhī yǐ wán yě. 此用bi字煞脚者, 乃一事之已完也。 [This word can end a sentence with -bi; it means that an event has already finished.] (FXJ 3a6)

(7b) -kabi, -habi, -kobi, -hobi, -kebi, -hebi: Yǐliǎo zì, yǐ zì, yě zì; Nǎi yíshì yǐ bì, yòng cǐ shà wěi, lìng xù bié qíng; yǐrán zhī yǔ. 已了字, 矣字, 也字；乃一事已畢, 用此煞尾, 另敍別情；已然之語。 [These are the words yǐliǎo, yǐ, and yě; these words mean that an event has already finished and mentions another event by using this as the end of a sentence; these mean what has already been so.] (QZX 21a5–6)

(8) Non-perfective participle suffix -ra/-re/-ro

(8a) -ra, -re, -ro: Cǐ sān zì, yòng yú zìmò, jiē chéng shàng jiē xià; jiāngrán wèirán zhī yǔ. 此三字, 用於字末, 皆承上接下；將然未然之語。 [These three are used at the end of a word. All connect both above and below; these mean what will soon be so or is not yet so.] (FXJ 2b2)

(8b) -ra, -re, -ro: Nǎi jié shàng jiē xià, wèirán zhī yǔ; yì kě shā wěi yòng, bǐ mbi zì, yǔqì qīnghuó; jù zhōng yì yǒu jiě zuò zhī zì, de zì zhě. 乃結上接下, 未然之語；亦可煞尾用, 比mbi字, 語氣輕活；句中亦有解作之字, 的字者。 [These words connect both above and below, meaning what is not yet so; these also can end a sentence, in this case the mood is lighter than the word -mbi; these also can be considered as zhī and de in several sentences.] (QZX 22a5–6)

(9) Perfective participle suffix -ha/-he/-ho, -ka/-ke/-ko³³

(9a) -ka, -ha, -ko, -ho, -ke, -he: Cǐ liù zì, jiē yǐrán zhī cí, hànwén yǐ zì, yě zì. 此六字, 皆已然之詞；漢文矣字, 也字。 [These six words mean what has already been so; these are the Chinese words yǐ and yě.] (FXJ 3a3)

(9b) -ka, -ha, -ko, -ho, -ke, -he: Liǎo zì, yǐ zì, yě zì; zài zì wěi lián yòng, nǎi yǐrán zhī cí; jù zhōng yì yǒu jiě zuò zhī zì, de zì zhě. 了字, 矣字, 也字；在字尾聯用, 乃已然之詞；句中亦有解作之字, 的字者。 [These are the words liǎo, yǐ, and yě; they are used together at the end of a word, meaning what has already been so; these also can be considered as zhī and de in several sentences.] (QZX 18a3)

(10) Non-perfective converb suffix -me

(10a) -me: Nǎi chéng shàng jiē xià, lián yíshì ér jí zhuǎn zhī cí; …yòu rú hànwén píngxù kǒuwěn, rú zháo zì zhī xū zìyǎn, nǎi yíjù zhōng zhī guò wén jiē mài zìyǎn yě. 乃承上接下, 連一事而急轉之詞；……又如漢文平叙口吻, 如着字之虚字眼, 乃一句中之過文接脉字眼也。 [This word connects both above and below, links an event, and converts it suddenly; or in the case of Chinese declarative style, this word is like a functional expression of zháo; it is the expression that connects context in a sentence.] (FXJ 3a8–3b1)

(10b) -me: Zháo zì; zài zìwěi liányòng, nǎi jié shàng jiē xià, jiāngrán wèirán zhī yǔ; jù zhōng huò yǒu liányòng jǐ me zì zhě, yì bìng tóng; zǒngjiē duàshābudé. 着字；在字尾聯用, 乃結上接下, 将然未然之語；句中或有連用幾me字者, 義並同；總皆斷煞不得。 [It is the word zháo; this is used together at the end of a word, it means what will soon be so or is not yet so; although several -me are used continuously in a sentence, the meaning is the same; it is impossible to end the sentence in all cases.] (QZX 10a6–10b1)

(11) Perfective converb suffix -fi

(11a) -fi: Yǔ me zì yǔqì xiāngsì ér shí bùtóng; me zhě yíshì ér yì xiānglián, fi zhě yíshì shuōwán, yǔqì wèi duàn, xià fù gèng duān. 與me字語氣相似而實不同；me者一事而意相連, fi者一事説完, 語氣未斷, 下復更端。 [The sense of this word is similar to -me but actually different; the meaning of -me is continued in an event, but in the case of -fi, although we finished discussing an event, the mood is not disconnected, and we change topics below.] (FXJ 3b4)

(11b) -fi: Shàng bàn jù de liǎo zì, yòu yīn zì yì; zài zìwěi liányòng, nǎi jié shàng jiē xià, jiāngrán yǐrán, cíyì wèi duàn zhī yǔ; jù zhōng yì yǒu lián yòng jǐ fi zì zhě, yì bìng tóng; zǒng wèi bànjù, duànshābudé. 上半句的了字, 又因字意；在字尾聯用, 乃結上接下, 将然已然, 詞義未斷之語；句中亦有連用幾fi字者, 義並同；總為半句, 斷煞不得。 [This is the word liǎo in the previous clause, or the meaning of yīn; it is used together at the end of the word and means what will soon be so or has already been so, the meaning of this word is not disconnected. Although several -fi are used continuously, the meaning is the same; it always becomes the previous clause, is impossible at the end of the sentence.] (QZX 16b3–4)

In the above examples, the terms jiéshā 結煞, shājiǎo 煞脚, shāwěi 煞尾, and duànshā 斷煞 actually mean ‘the finite form’. The expression zài zìwěi liányòng在字尾聯用 is a note on orthography.

Unlike the descriptions of case suffixes, there are descriptions of grammatical meanings like ...yǔ語 or ...cí詞 for verbal suffixes. These books also explain the tense and aspect system of the Manchu language using grammatical terms like yǐrán 已然 ‘what has already been so’, wèirán 未然 ‘what is not yet so’, and jiāngrán 將然 ‘what will soon be so’³⁴. This may be because Chinese words corresponding to the Manchu verbal suffixes do not exist, so the author of these textbooks had to describe them in a completely different way.

4 Contrasts in the Arrangement of Examples

4.1 Perfective and non-perfective

There is certain system apparent in the sections of the QZX displaying examples of Manchu grammar. In the section on the perfective participle suffixes -ha/-he/-ho etc. and non-perfective participle suffixes -ra/-re/-ro³⁵, the examples are arranged in contrast with other suffixes following the explanations we observed above as follows:

(12) Perfective participle suffix -ka, -ha, -ko, -ho, -ke, -he

ala-mbi: Gàosu. 告訴。 [(I) tell.] ala-ha: Gàosu liǎo. 告訴了。 [I have told.]

ere-mbi: Zhǐwàng. 指望。 [(I) wish.] ere-he: Zhǐwàng zháo liǎo. 指望着了。 [(I) have wished.]

obo-mbi: Xǐ. 洗。 [(I) wash.] obo-ho: Xǐ liǎo. 洗了。 [(I) have washed.]

hafu-mbi: Tōngdá. 通達。 [(I) understand.] hafu-ka: Tōngdá liǎo. 通達了。 [(I) have understood.]

gere-mbi: Tiān liàng. 天亮。 [The sky becomes bright.] gere-ke: Tiān liàng liǎo. 天亮了。 [The sky has become bright.]

fodoro-mbi: Máo dàojuǎn. 毛倒捲。 [The hair stands upright.] fodoro-ko: Máo dàojuǎn liǎo. 毛倒捲了. [The hair has stood upright.] (QZX 18a3–18b3)

(13) Non-perfective participle suffix -ra, -re, -ro

bi urunakū ana-mbi: Wǒ bìdìng tuī. 我必定推。 [I absolutely push.]

bi uthai ana-ra: Wǒ jiù tuī ya. 我就推呀。 [I would press.]

bi urunakū eri-mbi: Wǒ bìrán sǎo. 我必然掃。 [I absolutely clean.]

bi uthai eri-re: Wǒ jiù sǎo ya. 我就掃呀。 [I would clean.]

bi urunakū obono-mbi: Wǒ bìdìng qù xǐ. 我必定去洗。 [I absolutely go to wash.]

bi uthai obono-ro: Wǒ jiù qù xǐ a. 我就去洗啊。 [I would go to wash.] (QZX 22a5–22b5)

The examples in (12) include the Chinese literal translation liǎo zì 了字 ‘the word liǎo’ besides suffixes such as -ha/-he/-ho etc. Note that both suffixes are explained in contrast with the non-perfective finite form -mbi. These facts suggest that in this textbook the author considered the suffix -mbi the ‘unmarked’ form and the suffixes -ra/-re/-ro and -ha/-he/-ho etc. the ‘marked’ forms.

4.2 Derivational suffixes

Additionally, there are contrasts in the arrangement of examples in the section on derivational suffixes in QZX. The explanation and examples presented below concern the passive-causative verbal suffix -bu:

(14) Passive-Causative verbal suffix: -bu

Zài zìzhōng liányòng; rú shàng yǒu be zì zhàoyìng, shì zhuǎnyù shǐlìng, jiàolìng zì; rú shàng yǒu de zì zhàoyìng, shì bèi tārén zì; …Fán yù qīnghuà zìwěi, wú lián xūzì zhě, shì dāngmiàn shǐlìng zhī cí; rú yòu wú de, be èr zì, zhǐyǒu bu zì zhě, yì yǔ yǒu de, be èr zì zhě yì bìng tóng. Jīn rú dāngmiàn lìng rén yún, 在字中聯用；如上有be字照應, 是轉諭使令, 教令字；如上有de字照應, 是被他人字；……凡遇清話字尾, 無聯虚字者, 是當面使令之詞；如又無de, be二字, 只有bu字者, 亦與有de, be二字者義並同。今如當面令人云, [This is used together in the middle of the word; if it responds to -be above, it means to let others do or suggest others do instead; if it responds to -de above, it means to be done by others; …if there is no suffix at the end of the Manchu word, it means to order directly; even if there are neither -de nor -be words and only -bu, the meaning remains the same as when there are -de or -be. Now if we let others do directly, we say,]

si gene: Nǐ qù ba. 你去罷。 [You go.]

Rú zhuǎnyù lìng rén yún, 如轉諭令人云, [If we let others do instead, we say,]

terebe gene-bu: Lìng tā qù. 令他去。 [Let him go.]

Rú dāngmiàn lìng rén yún, 如當面令人云, [If we let others do directly, we say,]

si yabu: Nǐ zǒu ba. 你走罷。 [You depart.]

Rú zhuǎnyù lìng rén yún, 如轉諭令人云, [If we let others do instead, we say,]

terebe yabu-bu: Jiào tā zǒu. 教他走。 [Let him depart.]

Rú wú de, be èr zì yún, 如無de, be二字云, [If there is neither −de nor −be, we say,]

gisure-bu-mbi: Bèi rén shuō; yòu lìng tā shuō. 被人説；又令他説。 [Spoken by others; or let him speak.]

tanta-bu-mbi: Bèi rén dǎ; yòu jiào rén dǎ. 被人打；又教人打。 [Beaten by others; or let him beat.] (QZX 50b4–51a5)

The literal Chinese translations attached aside each example are as follows: the words gene and yabu are miànlìng 面令; the words genebu and yabubu are zhuǎnlìng 轉令; and the words gisurebumbi and tantabumbi are bèizì zhuǎnlìng 被字轉令.

In the examples above, the author not only explains that there is no suffix after the stem in the Manchu imperative, but also provides examples of derivational suffixes, contrasting them with the imperative form, and mentioning the difference between the direct imperative (miànlìng 面令) and the indirect imperative (zhuǎnlìng 轉令) by case domination, or the duality of causative and passive voice.

Here is another example of derivational suffixes in QZX, which consist of several verbalizers in Manchu:

(15) Verbalizer -ša, -še, -ta, -da, -te, -de, -do, -tu, -la, -le, -lo, -mi, -je, -ra, -re, -ro, -niye, -kiya, -giya, -kiye, -hiya, -hiye

Cǐ èrshí’èr zì, jù shì xíngwéi, dòngyòng, lìzuò, kāizhǎn zhī yì. 此二十二字, 倶是行爲, 動用, 力做, 開展之意。 [These 23 words all mean ‘to perform’, ‘to move’, ‘to do with power’, and ‘to open up’.]

hitahūn: Zhǐjiǎ. 指甲。 [Nail.] hitahūšambi: Zhǐjiǎ yā. 指甲壓。 [To push with a nail.]

mangga: Nán. 難。 [Difficult.] manggašambi: Zuònán作難。 [To make difficult.]

suwaliyambi: Chānhuó. 摻和。 [To blend.] suwaliyatambi: Chānzá chānhùn摻雜摻混。 [To blend a lot of things.]

gohon: Gōuzi. 鈎子。 [Hook.] gohorombi: Máo shāo gōu juǎn毛稍鈎捲。 [To bend like a hook.] ... (QZX 52a4–54a3)

The literal Chinese translations for each example are as follows: hitahūšambi is dòngyòng 動用; manggašambi is xíngwéi 行爲; suwaliyatambi is lìzuò 力做; and gohorombi is kāizhǎn 開展.

We can observe that the author of QZX attempts to explain the concept of derivation using original terms such as xíngwéi ‘to perform’, dòngyòng ‘to move’, lìzuò ‘to put power’, and kāizhǎn ‘to open up’. There are 38 pairs of nouns, adjectives, or verbs and their derived verbs; the classifications of the types in derivation and these terms are: (a) 25 examples from noun to verb: 13 xíngwéi, 7 dòngyòng, 4 lìzuò, and 1 kāizhǎn; (b) 9 examples from verb to verb: 4 lìzuò, 3 xíngwéi, and 2 kāizhǎn; (c) 4 examples from adjective to verb: 3 xíngwéi and 1 xíngwéi dòngzuò.

Concluding Remarks

According to our extant materials, there was no systematic description of the grammar of a non-Chinese language in China before the Ming Dynasty. The Manchu grammar books written by Chinese scholars and published during the Qing Dynasty can be considered materials reflecting the Chinese view on ‘grammar’ in non-Chinese languages.

Alexander Wylie (1815–1887), the translator of the Mǎnhànzì Qīngwén Qǐméng, introduced the QZX in his preface:

The student having thus made himself master of a large number of phrases, including the pronunciation, the manner of writing, and the meaning, next proceeds by means of the third Book, to decompose the sentences which his memory retains, into their elementary parts. It is not a matter for surprise, that the directions laid down for this purpose, vary greatly from the rules of a western grammatical treatise; were it otherwise, the fact might afford ground for astonishment. An attentive inspection of this part, however, will shew that a certain order is preserved in treating of the various particles. (Wylie 1855, p. lx)

As seen above, the translator emphasized this grammar book as greatly different from the rules of Western grammar, but when we consider the history of grammatical study in China, we note that the appearance of Manchu grammar books in the Qing Dynasty is an epochal event.

The features in grammatical description observed in early Manchu grammar books, such as the FXJ and QZX, are as follows:

• 1

  The description of the nominal case in Manchu is simple; there is almost no mention of the difference in word order — SVO vs. SOV — while the description of verbal conjugations and various derivations is detailed. This indicates that the description of ‘morphology’ is more important than that of ‘syntax’ because the concept of morphology applies to agglutinating languages but not isolating languages³⁶.

• 2

  These grammar books contain systematic descriptions. For example, the authors explain the tense and aspect system in Manchu using grammatical terms such as wèirán, jiāngrán, and yǐrán and arrange the examples by contrasting ‘marked’ and ‘unmarked’ forms. They indicate that Chinese scholars’ understanding of Manchu grammar during the Qing Dynasty had attained a high degree of sophistication.

Why does the intention to have a ‘system’ arise? We infer that it is because traditional thought patterns of exegetics (xùngǔxué 訓詁學) in China could not process grammatical concepts such as conjugation or derivation.

Chinese exegetics from the Han Dynasty developed according to the desire to deepen the study of annotations of the Confucian classics, history books, and literary works, the most symbolic materials of exegetics being the dictionaries which arrange words by meaning which originated from the Ěryǎ 爾雅. The most typical description of exegetics is:

A zhě B yě. A者B也。 / A, B yě. A, B也。 [A is B.]

A, B yě; yòu C yě. A, B也； 又C也。 [A is B; or is C.]

The goal of traditional Chinese exegetics was to consider all the meanings of words in the past and present at the same level and link them to each other, and there were no concepts like the origin, hierarchy, or derivation of meaning, etc. There was no room for a ‘stereoscopic’ or ‘metaphysical’ perspective on language.

It is generally agreed on that it was the Mǎshì Wéntōng 馬氏文通 (1898) that introduced modern grammatical concepts to China³⁷. From our examination of Manchu grammar, we conclude that the reason why people in China did not employ ‘modern’ grammatical concepts until the end of the 19th century was not a lack of ability but because the object of their grammatical descriptions was Chinese, which is a typical isolating language. These Manchu grammars suggest that Chinese scholars were able to attain modern grammatical concepts when they made grammatical analyses of languages belonging to typologically different langauge families such as the Altaic languages. We cannot neglect the value of studies of Manchu grammar in the history of Chinese epistemology.

References