''Mashi Wentong'' (, English: ''Ma's Grammar'') is the first

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

of the

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...

written by a Chinese scholar,

Ma Jianzhong Ma Jianzhong (; 1845 – 1900), courtesy name Meishu (), also known as Ma Kié-Tchong in French, was a Chinese official and scholar in the late Qing dynasty. Ma was born in Dantu (), Jiangsu province to a prominent Chinese Catholic family. Afte ...

, who published it in 1898. Although the "germination of modern linguistics in China" is attributed to this book, ''Mashi Wentong'' was criticized by critics such as Chen Chengze and

Li Jinxi Li Jinxi (; February 2, 1890 – March 27, 1978) was a Chinese linguist and educator. In 1911, he graduated from the Hunan Teachers College. He participated in the China Alliance Committee in his early years and launched the Jiusan Society in 194 ...

as imitating Western grammar and imposing the Western grammatical tradition on Chinese.Pan and Tham. (2007:page101). ''Contrastive Linguistics: History, Philosophy and Methodology''. London: Continuum. .

References

{{reflist 1898 non-fiction books Chinese grammar