Origin, role and use of Chinese classifiers: linguistic observations from late Qing Western grammars

In this article, I briefly describe and analyse the lexicographical contribution to the history of the Chinese language provided by different foreign scholars of late Qing China. The article focuses on the classification and description of classifiers expressed in some lexicographical works, specifically grammatical and miscellaneous texts edited between the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. I particularly highlight how the value of these works has not always progressed in a linear way; instead, they frequently show discrepancies and uncertainties, but at the same time they often reveal enlightening considerations ahead of their time.