Page:An alphabetic dictionary of the Chinese language in the Foochow dialect.djvu/7

 PREFACE.

As two names appear on the title-page of this dictionary, it is proper to indicate our respective shares in its preparation; and the more so, as it is due to the Rev. Mr. Baldwin to state that the larger portion of the labor of authorship has been freely performed by him, and that to his correct scholarship, extensive knowledge of the Foochow dialect, and indomitable perseverance, the dictionary is indebted for the degree of thoroughness and accuracy it may possess. The manuscript for that portion of the dictionary comprised in pp. 1—631 was originally prepared by myself, but it was subsequently very carefully revised and improved by Mr. Baldwin, and a considerable portion of it (pp. 403—631) was entirely re-written by him. The portion comprised in pp. 632—1014, together with the Introduction to the dictionary, was prepared by Mr. Baldwin, and, as it was impracticable for me to revise his manuscript, it was printed just as it came from his hands. The general plan of the work and a responsibility for the whole are mine.

The design and scope of the dictionary are so fully set forth in the Introduction, given on subsequent pages, that it is unnecessary to make any extended remarks on the subject in this place. The aim has been to present a work that shall at once illustrate the Foochow dialect, and prove a valuable help to all students of the Chinese language. The definitions of the characters, and a large number of the phrases given under them, will apply equally well to any dialect through which the student seeks to acquire a knowledge of the general written language of China. Everything in