Introducing Wang Li by Wang, Bo; Ma, Tianqi; Ma, Yuanyi;

Short description:

Focusing on the life and works of Wang Li, one of the most distinguished Chinese linguists, this title provides a general survey of the linguist, including his personal background and his research. The book is a must-read for researchers and students studying Chinese linguistics.

Long description:

Focusing on the life and works of Wang Li, one of the founding figures of modern Chinese linguistics, this book offers a comprehensive introduction to his scholarship. It presents Wang Li as a pioneering linguist whose research ranged across grammar, phonology and phonetics, historical linguistics, dialectology, pedagogy, and prosody, and shows how he integrated traditional Chinese philology with modern linguistic science.

The book first sketches Wang Li?s life through a concise biography from his birth in 1900 to his passing in 1986, highlighting key moments in his intellectual development and professional career. It then introduces his major contributions across different research areas, explaining their significance to the study of the Chinese language.

This volume is an essential resource for students and researchers of Chinese linguistics, as well as for readers seeking an accessible entry point to one of the most influential linguists of the 20th century.

?This volume is a long-overdue and vital response to the need for a comprehensive English-language study of Wang Li?s life and monumental academic legacy. As the first work of its kind, the book makes his scholarly heritage accessible to a worldwide readership. It aims not only to pay tribute to the great thinker but also to enrich our global understanding of language, culture, and China?s modern intellectual history. The relevance and insight of Wang Li?s academic thought remain vibrant today, and this volume serves as an indispensable key to unlocking that treasure.?

Guowen Huang, Professor of Applied Linguistics, City University of Macau

?This book on Wang Li is a real treat for Chinese linguists. Wang Li was a founding figure of Chinese linguistics whose work is classic in our field but, to the best of my knowledge, no book of this scope has ever been written in English about his life and works. The three authors carefully navigate their readers through Wang Li's fascinating life, and the book is not only an illuminating academic work but also a genuinely interesting read, which I definitely recommend for both academics and students with interest in Chinese studies and linguistics.?

D?niel Z. K?d?r (Member of Academia Europaea; Professor, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, China)

Table of Contents:

Introduction

PART I: Wang Li?s life
1 Childhood and early growth of Wang Li (1900? 1924)

2 From Tsinghua to Paris: Wang Li?s pursuit of knowledge (1924? 1932)

3 Years of wandering and steadfast scholarship (1932?1953)

4 The fruitful years at Peking University (1954? 1965)

5 The ordeal of the Cultural Revolution (1966? 1976)

6 The road back and the hallmarks of a master (1977? 1984)

7 The final years and his last wishes (1983? 1986)

PART II: Wang Li?s works

8 Chinese grammar

9 Phonology and phonetics

10 History of the Chinese language

11 History of Chinese linguistics

12 Learning and teaching ancient Chinese

13 Versification of Classical Chinese Poetry

14 Wang Li?s essays

15 Wang Li?s poems

16 Wang Li?s translations

17 Epilogue: The legacy of Wang Li

Appendix 1: A chronicle of Wang Li?s life

Appendix 2: A timeline of Chinese dynasties