Ma Jianzhong (; 1845 – 1900),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Meishu (), also known as Ma Kié-Tchong in French, was a Chinese official and scholar in the late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Ma was born in Dantu (),

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

province to a prominent Chinese Catholic family. After studies at a French Catholic school in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, Ma went to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1876 to study international law. He became the first Chinese to obtain a

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

and in 1879 he obtained a diploma in law (''licence de droit'') from

École Libre des Sciences Politiques , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

(known today as Sciences Po) in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Following his return to China in 1880, Ma became a member of Li Hongzhang's secretariat, where Ma's knowledge of international law became a useful asset. Among other things, Ma helped to carry out Qing policy in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

in 1880–82 and he took part in the arrest of Taewŏn'gun. In 1884, he also became involved in the

China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company China Merchants Group Limited () is an international state-owned corporation (SOE) of the People's Republic of China. The company is operating under the auspices of the Chinese Ministry of Transport. Founded in 1872 China Merchants Steam Navig ...

, where he worked closely with

Tong King-sing Tong King-sing (18321892; ), also known as Tang Tingshu (), was a Chinese comprador, interpreter, and businessman during the late Qing dynasty. Born in Xiangshan, Guangdong province, he studied in Robert Morrison's missionary schools as a boy ...

. Ma is the author of ''

Mashi Wentong ''Mashi Wentong'' (, English: ''Ma's Grammar'') is the first grammar of the Chinese language written by a Chinese scholar, Ma Jianzhong, who published it in 1898. Although the "germination of modern linguistics in China" is attributed to this book ...

'' (馬氏文通 "Basic principles for writing clearly and coherently by Mister Ma"), the first textbook of

Chinese grammar The grammar of Standard Chinese or Mandarin shares many features with other varieties of Chinese. The language almost entirely lacks inflection; words typically have only one grammatical form. Categories such as number (singular or plural) and ...

written by a Chinese (there were already several grammars written by Westerners), published in 1898. Today most scholars believe that Ma's older brother

Ma Xiangbo Ma Xiangbo (; April 7, 1840 – November 4, 1939) was a Chinese Society of Jesus, Jesuit Catholic priest, priest, scholar and educator in late-Qing dynasty, Qing and early-Republic of China (1912–49), Republican China. He was one of the foun ...

, a famous educator and co-founder of

Fudan University Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...

, also contributed to the work. Ma had been requested by

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

, for whom he had previously worked for since 1880s to assist after the

Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove fo ...

stormed

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

as part of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

and died on August 4, 1900, in

References

Footnotes

External links

About Ma's study in France
(in Chinese)
''A Journal to the East'' (東行錄)
Ma's record on Korea (in Chinese) *Alain Peyraube
"Some Reflections on the Sources of the ''Mashi Wentong''"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Jianzhong 1845 births 1900 deaths Grammarians from China Linguists of Chinese Writers from Zhenjiang Qing dynasty politicians from Jiangsu Scientists from Zhenjiang Politicians from Zhenjiang