Wang Yi, the silent contributor to the Mandarin Movement.

Author: Yun Wang

– Wang Yi, the silent contributor to the Mandarin Movement.

(Wang Yi, who taught at Beijing Normal University.)

From what I found online, Mr. Wang Yi’s fame mainly revolves around his invention of shorthand learning. Shorthand in China began with the publications of “Chuanyin Kuai Zi” by Cai Xiyong in 1896, “Shengshi Yuanyin” by Shen Xue in 1905, and “Minqiang Kuai Zi” by Li Jiesan. After the May Fourth Movement, many patriotic scholars started researching shorthand, and various schemes were published successively, with around a hundred different types. Among them, only four had significant influence, and “Wang’s shorthand” was one of them. In 1919, Wang Yi published the “Chinese New Shorthand Technique” (First Edition), revised and published the “Chinese Latest Shorthand Technique” (Second Edition) in 1928, further revised and published the “Wang Yi Mandarin Shorthand Learning” (Third Edition) in 1931, and simplified it further by publishing the “Wang Yi Simplified Shorthand” (Fourth Edition) by 1936. After the publication of the Second Edition, Wang Yi himself started teaching at universities and vocational schools. In 1931, he established the Mandarin Shorthand Propagation Institute in Beijing to promote it, cultivating a group of shorthand talents with significant influence in the northern regions. In his later years, Wang Yi moved to Taiwan for medical treatment but continued his research on shorthand, publishing the “Wang Yi Shorthand Fifth Edition” in Taiwan.

The extent of the influence of Wang Yi’s shorthand at that time can be seen from a small incident. In 1946, a teacher of shorthand named Guo Tengyun from Yan’an had once participated in shorthand recording work with Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying during the military adjustment talks in Beiping. It was quite a coincidence that all three sides of the talks—Zhou Enlai of the Communist Party of China, Zhang Zhizhong of the Kuomintang, and Marshall of the United States—had shorthand writers, and even more coincidental was that all three shorthand writers were using Mr. Wang Yi’s “Wang’s shorthand.”

On October 10, 1951, Mr. Wang Yi published an article titled “My Study of Shorthand” in the “Guoyu Daily,” recounting how he learned the “empty valley echo” in the study of ancient phonology at the age of 14, which inspired him to study shorthand. By the time he published this article in 1951, it had been exactly 60 years since then, and he was already 74 years old. He said, “Sixty years is like a lifetime, after a lifetime of studying shorthand, achieving only this much seems quite insignificant; however, this little achievement seems to be worth documenting.” He made significant contributions to shorthand research, yet remained so humble, which truly reflected Wang Yi’s character.

(Wang’s shorthand.)

Wang Yi (1875-1960), courtesy name Yian, was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. He graduated from Lianghu Academy in his early years and served as a high school teacher and supervisor (equivalent to principal) at Dongbei Yingkou Commercial School. In the early years of the Republic of China, he served as editor-in-chief and manager at the New China Daily, and later held positions in the Ministry of Education and served as a lecturer at Beijing Normal University and other institutions. He was a member of the “Association for Unified Pronunciation” and a standing committee member of the “Preparatory Committee for National Language Unification.” He served as the chief of the National Phonetic Dictionary Division of the Compilation Office of the Great Chinese Dictionary and was a principal compiler of various dictionaries. He was a Chinese modern linguist, and shorthand was merely a byproduct of his linguistic studies.

Wang Yi’s father, Wang Zanqing (Tingxiang), was also a prominent local intellectual. At the age of 30, he studied at Meiji University in Japan. After the success of the 1911 Revolution, he served as the secretary of the interim presidential office of Sun Yat-sen and was later elected as the head of the investigation department of the Ministry of Transportation’s Road Administration in Beijing. In 1898, he and Qiu Tingliang founded the Baihua Society in Wuxi, aiming to “enable businessmen, farmers, workers, and students of private schools to have a basic understanding of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign affairs and Western politics and learning, thus broadening public knowledge.” They also established the Wuxi Baihua Newspaper (later renamed as the China Official Pronunciation Baihua Newspaper), which was the third modern Chinese vernacular newspaper. From this perspective, whether Wang Yi was involved in newspaper publishing or became a promoter of the Mandarin Movement, he was undoubtedly influenced by his father.

Wang Yi had a profound foundation in Mandarin, excelling in calligraphy and poetry, particularly knowledgeable in phonology. He participated in the process of standardizing the pronunciation of 6,500 Chinese characters and devising phonetic symbols with the “Association for Unified Pronunciation” in 1913. He advocated using the pure Beijing dialect as the standard pronunciation. After this proposal was accepted, he was appointed as a member of the Committee for the Revision of National Phonetic Dictionary, tasked with re-evaluating the national pronunciation. Throughout this process of unifying the first standard for Chinese characters, he was both a participant and a formulator of the standards. Subsequently, together with Li Jinxi, he held lectures nationwide to promote phonetic symbols and national pronunciation. The textbook “New National Pronunciation Studies” (1924) was based on his lectures and became the first applicable textbook in the Mandarin Movement.

Wang Yi was also a member of the “Shuren Society” initiated by Liu Bannong. In collaboration with a few others, they held 22 meetings within a year to complete the “Romanized Phonetic Alphabet for Mandarin Chinese,” which was formally announced nationwide by the university council (then the Ministry of Education).

In linguistics, Wang Yi’s most significant achievement was the “National Language Dictionary.” Lin Yutang wrote in “The Treasure of Mandarin”: “This dictionary, titled the Compilation Office of the Great Chinese Dictionary, was actually compiled by Mr. Wang Yian (from the 34th year of the Republic of China to the 49th year). This person achieved success but did not seek fame. Therefore, he is particularly admirable. He was gentle and honest, not seeking fame. From the 20th to the 34th year of the Republic of China, for fifteen years, he worked tirelessly on this monumental task (the first volume was published in the 26th year of the Republic of China, and the fourth volume was published in the 34th year, completing this masterpiece). I met him during the Romanized Mandarin Conference in the 14th and 15th years of the Republic of China. At the time, Zhao Yuanren, Qian Xuantong, and Li Jinxi were present. He seldom spoke during the meetings, carrying an air of dignity and maturity. Besides his work on dictionaries, Wang also had accomplishments in shorthand and poetry. Mr. Liang Rongruo wrote about his life and work, which was published in the fourth issue of Biography and Literature, which can be referenced. Additionally, the “National Phonetic Dictionary” published in Shanghai in the 36th year of the Republic of China, and the first edition in Taiwan in the 47th year supplemented the shortcomings of the “National Phonetic Vocabulary,” which is also noteworthy.”

In the preface of the “National Language Dictionary” (four-volume edition), Li Jinxi explicitly stated that “Mr. Wang Yian has been consistently in charge of this ‘National Language Dictionary’.” From the preface written by Wang Yi for the “National Language Dictionary” (eight-volume edition) in 1943, we can see the origin of this dictionary: The compilation of this book began in 1931, “although the plan was lofty, there was no special budget, only a monthly subsidy of several hundred yuan from the funds of the National Language Unification Preparatory Committee to cover expenses. The collection of materials was difficult, especially during the editing process.” Wang Yi and the Commercial Press reached a contract for joint copyright, and an advance royalty of more than 3,000 yuan was provided to start compilation. In 1935, due to financial constraints of the Nationalist government, even the funds of the National Language Unification Preparatory Committee were not included in the budget, and the work of the Compilation Office seemed hopeless. Later, the National Language Unification Preparatory Committee was renamed the National Language Promotion Committee, and separate funds were allocated. The “National Phonetic Dictionary” was renamed “National Language Dictionary” and became the main focus of the compilation work. In 1937, the first volume of the “National Language Dictionary” was published for trial printing, shortly before the fall of Beiping to Japanese forces. The puppet government renamed the Compilation Office as the “Chinese Dictionary Compilation Office” and appointed Wang Yi as the director. In the autumn of 1939, the “National Language Dictionary” (eight-volume edition) was completed. Due to difficulties in producing phonetic symbols and typesetting, coupled with the severe damage to the Commercial Press headquarters caused by Japanese bombing, it was not until 1943 that funding was secured for printing and publishing. Wang Yi’s positioning of the book was “the editing of this book aims to contribute to the unity of the national language, literacy of the people, self-study of students, and general reference.” Unfortunately, the “National Language Dictionary” (eight-volume edition) completed by Wang Yi and the editors who persevered in Beiping during the Japanese puppet regime, despite their hard work under various pressures, was tainted by the inclusion of a large number of Japanese loanwords, but it still holds significant academic value. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Li Jinxi returned to Beijing and officially published the “National Language Dictionary” (four-volume edition) under the name of the Compilation Office of the Great Chinese Dictionary in 1949, marking the conclusion of this work. Unfortunately, by this time, Wang Yi had already left Beiping. The “National Language Dictionary” is a milestone in the Mandarin Movement and has become the standard for Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to learn Mandarin and compile new dictionaries.

At the Compilation Office of the Great Chinese Dictionary, Wang Yi was the eldest, so he was referred to as “Master Wang.” He was not only an expert in phonology but also leveraged his connections in the Ministry of Education and the publishing industry to advance various projects. When the controversy over simplified characters arose and was put on hold, he and Li Jinxi jointly went to the Nanjing government as lobbyists. After several days of debate, the 324-character proposal was finally approved.

Wang Yi’s gentle and refined demeanor was well-known, and he enjoyed drinking tea. For a period, he was a regular visitor to the Changmei Pavilion in Beiping’s Central Park, almost every day, having his own fixed spot. He preferred wearing traditional Chinese attire and naturally settled into his place. Of course, he also brought others along, mostly for academic meetings or to entertain officials.

After the end of the war, Wang Yi, being elderly, faced controversy due to his involvement in pseudo-official positions. He and his eldest son, Wang Gongli, went to Taiwan for recuperation, disappearing from the academic scene. In his later years in Taiwan, Wang Yi lived in the same neighborhood as Dong Zuobin, a master of oracle bone inscriptions. Admiring Dong Zuobin’s knowledge, Wang Yi utilized the oracle bone inscriptions provided by him to compose 182 pairs of couplets, 91 poems, and 77 lyrics, completing the “Ji Qi Ji” in 1950 and writing a preface for the book. It can be said that this “Ji Qi Ji” is the work with the most oracle bone inscriptions as its content. In October 1960, “Ji Qi Ji” was published in the first issue of “Chinese Characters.”

In 1976, a Japanese named Ouyang Keliang rewrote the original manuscript, and under the names of Ouyang Keliang, Dong Zuobin, and Wang Yi, it was published by the Japanese Chunqiu Academy as “Ji Qi Ji.” The original “Ji Qi Ji” by Dong Zuobin and Wang Yi was published by Yan Yiping in October 1978 at the Yiwen Publishing House, “to offer to enthusiasts of oracle bone calligraphy and as a commemoration of Mr. Wang and Mr. Dong.” In his later years, Wang Yi lived peacefully in his hobbies, seemingly forgotten for his contributions to the Mandarin Movement. This may be the most authentic portrayal of Wang Yi.

(during the war with the main staff of the Compilation Office (from left to right: Xu Shirong, Sun Chongyi, Wang Yi, Wang Shuda, He Meicen)）

References:

“Modern Chinese Linguists” Compiled by the Writing Group of “Modern Chinese Linguists,” Hebei Education Press

“The Diary of Qian Xuantong” (Compiled Edition) Edited by Yang Tianshi, Peking University Press

“National Language Dictionary” (Eight-volume edition) Compilation Office of the Chinese Dictionary, Commercial Press

“National Language Dictionary” (Four-volume edition) Compilation Office of the Great Chinese Dictionary, Commercial Press