The overture of Peking pronunciation’s victory: The first published Peking orthography
北京官话胜利的序幕：最早出版的北京话拼写法
Ju Song 宋桔

Abstract 摘要
Thomas Francis Wade (1818–1895) and his Wade-Giles System have been credited with promoting the victory of Peking pronunciation as the standard Mandarin. However, the first Peking orthography was not published by him, but another British consular official, Thomas Taylor Meadows (1815–1868), in his book Desultory Notes (1847). In the present paper the content and value of this orthography are examined by comparing Meadows and his contemporaries’, especially Wade’s, attitudes and treatment towards Peking Mandarin and a uniform Chinese transcription system, with specific reference to the development of Peking Mandarin in 19th century. It demonstrates that Wade adopted Meadows’s opinion on the significance of Peking pronunciation, and his system was also influenced by Meadows’s in many aspects. This study illuminates that Meadows’ orthography, as a first try of an exclusive transcription system for Peking pronunciation, played the overture of its victory.

19世纪英国外交官威妥玛 (Thomas Francis Wade, 1818–1895) 和他的拼音方案 (Wade-Giles System) 因推动了北京音成为官话标准音的进程而备受赞誉。然而，第一个北京音拼音方案其实出自另一位英国外交官——密迪乐 (Thomas Taylor Meadows, 1815–1868)，该方案刊登在他1847年出版的《随笔》(Desultory Notes) 中。本文结合19世纪北京官话发展的历史背景，通过比较密迪乐与同时期的汉学家（特别是威妥玛）对北京官话和统一汉语拼写系统的态度与处理方式来分析密迪乐方案的内容与价值。研究发现密迪乐不仅在北京音重要性的观念上深刻影响了威妥玛，而且在分类、选词、标记方式等多个方面影响了后者的拼音系统。本文的研究说明，密迪乐的拼写方案作为第一个专门的北京音罗马字转写系统，揭开了北京音获得标准音胜利的序幕。

Subject Keywords 主题词

Peking pronunciation 北京音 Thomas Francis Wade 威妥玛 Thomas Taylor Meadows 密迪乐 Peking Orthography 北京音拼写系统


Journal of Chinese Linguistics vol.48, no.2 (June 2020): 402-437
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