Francisco Varo Arte de la lengua Mandarina
Canton: 1703
Hunterian Ef.1.8
Varo, a Spanish Dominican, completed the
manuscript of this work at Fúzhōu in Fújiàn Province in 1682, but
it was not until 1703 that it was printed with editorial
alterations by the Mexican Franciscan, Pedro de la Piñuela at
Canton.
Despite its place of publication, it is not a
grammar of Cantonese, but rather, as the title indicates,
Mandarin, which as the dialect of Chinese spoken in and around the
capital Bĕjīng, gradually came to establish itself as the official
form of the language throughout China during the the early part of
the Qīng Dynasty (1644-1721). It constitutes an important
contribution by the mendicant orders to a field dominated by the
Jesuits.
Printed in oriental fashion on Chinese paper
from woodcut blocks, this is one of only fourteen recorded copies.
