A Grammar of Colloquial Chinese, as Exhibited in the Shanghai Dialect

"A Grammar of Colloquial Chinese, as Exhibited in the Shanghai Dialect" by Joseph Edkins is a detailed exploration of the Shanghai dialect of Chinese, created in the 1800s. This book is like a guidebook that dives into the complex rules of how people spoke Chinese in the Shanghai area. It looks at everything from the sounds and tones they used to how they put sentences together, intending to teach people about this specific way of speaking Chinese. The book starts with an introduction where Edkins talks about how other books about Chinese grammar weren't clear enough or well-organized. Edkins explains that he wants to provide a clear and organized look at the Shanghai dialect, especially because it had been ignored in other studies of the Chinese language. He also thanks other experts who helped him and points out how important it is to understand the specific sounds and tones used in Shanghai. This sets the stage for a close and organized examination of the grammar rules of this regional way of speaking Chinese.