1、 Introduction

In the 16th century, Jesuits from Europe came to the East to initiate a new wave of communication between China and the West. Matteo Ricci and Kinnigo pioneered bilingual dictionaries in both Chinese and foreign languages through romanization and phonetic annotation. In 1670, Kircher added the "Chinese French Dictionary" to the appendix of the French version of "Chinese Illustrated", which was the first bilingual dictionary printed in Europe. At the end of the 17th century, the French "king's mathematician" came east to promote the compilation of Chinese and foreign dictionaries, and Bai Jin compiled the "Sino French Dictionary". In the 18th century, under the dominance of Han and Latin dictionaries, the compilation of French foreign dictionaries gradually transitioned to Han and French dictionaries. De Jin, Tang Zhizhong, Sun Zhang, and others compiled many important Han and French dictionaries. In the 19th century, with the development of French Sinology, there was a small peak in the compilation of Chinese and French dictionaries, and the "Hanfala Dictionary" compiled by Xiao Dejin was a typical representative.

2、 A Review of the Publication of Chinese and French Lexicographical Books in the 19th Century

The publishing characteristics of Chinese French and French Chinese dictionaries in the 19th century were mainly reflected in the publication of Mandarin French dictionaries, which not only preceded non Mandarin French dictionaries, but also had an absolute advantage in quantity. Early Jesuits who came to China realized the importance of mastering Mandarin, which was the language of court officials and nobles at that time, and also their main target of preaching. In the early 19th century, the compilation of Chinese and French dictionaries was basically stagnant, but it began to grow from the 1940s. From 1840 to 1899, a total of 44 Chinese French and French Chinese dictionaries were published, including 37 official language dictionaries. In the mid to late 19th century, Chinese and Latin dictionaries gradually faded out and were replaced by Chinese and French dictionaries, which was closely related to the relationship between China and France. After the First Opium War, the Qing government signed an unequal treaty with France, allowing the French to learn Chinese Mandarin and Chinese dialects, which stimulated the publication of Chinese French and French Chinese bilingual dictionaries. During the Second Opium War, French missionaries were able to freely enter inland China to preach, further promoting the publication of Han French and French Chinese dictionaries. Before the 1850s, the market was dominated by Chinese and French dictionaries, but after the 1950s, the number of French and Chinese dictionaries increased dramatically. Chinese French bilingual dictionaries are mainly for French scholars, while French Chinese bilingual dictionaries are mainly for Chinese people. The large-scale publication of Chinese and French dictionaries in the 19th century benefited from the breakthroughs in Chinese character printing technology in the Western sinology community.

3、 Printing of Chinese and French dictionaries in the 19th century

In the 19th century, European publishers faced the challenge of Chinese character printing technology. Due to a lack of understanding of Chinese characters and high printing costs, early Chinese French and French dictionaries mostly existed in the form of handwritten copies. In the 19th century, with the advancement of printing technology, a large number of printed dictionaries appeared, of which 28 were printed editions, 13 were printed in China, 11 were printed in France, and the rest were co published in Vietnam. Paris became the center of Chinese character printing technology, and the Chinese Latin alphabet phonetic annotation scheme developed by missionaries solved the problem of Chinese character printing, allowing Chinese and French dictionaries to be printed on a large scale in the European market. The development of French Sinology has promoted the advancement of Chinese character casting technology, and the continuous improvement of Chinese movable type printing technology has reduced costs, making it possible to publish small-scale Chinese French and French Chinese dictionaries. Legrand's Chinese character combination metal movable type printing method saved costs and facilitated the combination of Chinese characters, which was widely used and introduced to China. In the mid to late 19th century, the specifications of Chinese and French dictionaries became smaller and more popular among Chinese language learners. In China, Western printing technology is gradually being accepted, and Legrand's stacked fonts have entered the Chinese market through different channels, especially popular in places such as Macau and Ningbo. Xian County in Hejian Prefecture became the main publishing place for Han, French, and Han dictionaries in the 19th century, where the works of Gu Saifen and Dai Suiliang were printed. Legrand's stacked characters were used for missionary work and dictionary printing among Chinese missionaries, while Chinese woodblock printing was also favored for its high quality and low price.

4、 Conclusion

In the mid to late 19th century, the compilation and publication of Chinese and French dictionaries reached a peak, with diverse types and specifications of dictionaries. Between 1840 and 1899, 44 Chinese French and French Chinese dictionaries were published, reflecting the advancement of Chinese character printing technology. The use of dictionaries has expanded from missionaries to French officials, military personnel, merchants, travelers, and others. The compilers also developed from missionaries to French sinologists, where missionary sinology and professional sinology coexisted. These changes reflect the close relationship between China and France in the 19th century, and the Qing government began to develop foreign language education.