Fang Yi (1883—1958), styled Shuyuan, was from Wujin, Changzhou.

In his early years, Fang Yi studied at St. John’s University in Shanghai, later working with Ma Xiangbo. He served as the academic director of the Nanjing Dialect School.

In 1912, Fang Yi joined the dictionary department of the Commercial Press as an editor.

In 1915, due to the eye ailment of the department head Lu Erqui, Fang Yi took over as the head of the dictionary department.

In 1920, the dictionary department of the Commercial Press was transformed into the National Language Dictionary Committee, where Fang Yi served as the chairman while also holding the position of president of the National Language Correspondence Society.

During this period,

In 1919, the National Language Unification Preparatory Committee was established, and Fang Yi served as a committee member.

In 1922, Fang Yi was appointed as a member of the “Chinese Character Provincial Commission.”

In 1923, he was named a committee member of the “Revised National Pronunciation Dictionary.”

Works and Achievements:

In 1912, he participated in the compilation of the “New Dictionary.”

In 1915, he co-edited the “Student Dictionary” with Lu Erqui, and the two collaborated on the “Ciyuan” in the same year.

In 1920, in response to demands from various sectors, Fang Yi began to lead the revision and supplementation of the “Ciyuan,” taking 10 years to collect and organize over 30,000 entries, and published the “Ciyuan Supplement” in 1931. This book is different from the original “Ciyuan”; the former “focuses on ancient words, serving as a resource for the study of old scholarship,” while the latter aims to “broadly collect new terms, serving as a bridge between old and new.” In the summary of the supplement, Fang Yi recommended: “Those who already have the ‘Ciyuan’ must also have the supplement, as the two books complement each other when combined. However, those who do not have the ‘Ciyuan’ should also have the supplement because the supplement itself is a brand-new encyclopedia.”

In 1924, he published “On the Evolution of Mandarin,” which was reprinted in Taiwan in 1961.

In 1940, Fang Yi, together with Fang Baoguan, edited the “Chinese Dictionary of Personal Names.”

Fang Yi also participated in the compilation work of the “Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese Historical Geography.”

During the Mandarin promotion movement, Fang Yi undertook proofreading work for “A Simple Explanation of Mandarin Phonetic Symbols” (edited by Lu Yiyan) and “Lectures on Mandarin Phonetic Symbols” (edited by Ma Guoying).