Introducing Wang Li The Life and Works of a Chinese Linguist

Focusing on the life and works of Wang Li, one of the founding figures of modern Chinese linguistics, this book offers a comprehensive introduction to his scholarship. It presents Wang Li as a pioneering linguist whose research ranged across grammar, phonology and phonetics, historical linguistics, dialectology, pedagogy, and prosody, and shows how he integrated traditional Chinese philology with modern linguistic science.

The book first sketches Wang Li’s life through a concise biography from his birth in 1900 to his passing in 1986, highlighting key moments in his intellectual development and professional career. It then introduces his major contributions across different research areas, explaining their significance to the study of the Chinese language.

This volume is an essential resource for students and researchers of Chinese linguistics, as well as for readers seeking an accessible entry point to one of the most influential linguists of the 20th century.