Bilingual sources of Kwong Ki Chiu’s English-Chinese lexicons, 1868–1887

This paper revitalizes the study of Kwong Ki Chiu (1845–1891), a merchant, journalist, lexicographer, and prominent official in the Chinese Educational Mission (1872–1881), through a reading of the three editions of his English-Chinese lexicons, released in 1868, 1875, and 1887 respectively. Existing scholarship portrays Kwong’s lexicons as a progression characterized by vocabulary expansion and a shift towards commercial utility, alongside a gradual assimilation to the official Mandarin language guanhua, which was attributable to Kwong’s change in position from a port merchant to a regional official. Combining a synthesis of bilingual sources surrounding the lexicons and an analysis of a selection of lexical entries, this paper challenges the prevailing view to assert that Kwong’s lexicons were consistently written Cantonese-based, justifying Cantonese as a medium through which English was acquired in his time. Newly found manuscripts and periodical sources about Kwong also revealed his efforts in garnering overseas resources and support, which widened not only his personal network but also the circulation of his lexicons. Kwong’s ambition in popularizing bilingual competence via facilitating English learning through Cantonese ran in parallel with his later endeavours in promoting language education and journalism for the public in South China. This paper thus offers a point of departure for further exploring bilingual sources surrounding late Qing Cantonese bilinguals of Kwong’s calibre and their roles in making Lingnan global. Copyright © 2025 Institute of Chinese Studies, CUHK. All Rights Reserved.