Abstract:

The Chinese-English dictionaries compiled by amateurs such as Christian missionaries or embassy staff in China during 19th century have been overlooked or underplayed in China academic circles. However,if we take a fresh approach by reviewing these dictionaries in their historical background,by applying the principles of lexicography,we will reach a more balanced view on these historical bilingual Chinese-English Dictionaries and the role played by the amateurs. This paper adopts this approach to reach a more objective evaluation,by reviewing the history and the birth of Chinese-English Dictionaries,and finding out their major design features.