Source: The Story of My Life, Part III, Ch. 5: Literary Style
“If only there were a lexicographer of Liang Shih-ch'iu's ability who also had the perspicuity to arrange his dictionary by sound rather than radical! … No wonder most of us are so sour and gray by the time we reach fifty! The amount of time consumed and the spirit expended in this sort of meaningless, not to mention destructive, type of activity is beyond calculation.”
The Need for an Alphabetically Arranged General Usage Dictionary of Mandarin Chinese (February 1986).
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Victor H. Mair 5
American sinologist and linguist 1943Related quotes
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