ThePentaglot Dictionary[1][2] (Chinese:御製五體清文鑑;pinyin:Yuzhi Wuti Qing Wenjian);[a], also known as theManchu Polyglot Dictionary,[3][4] was a dictionary of major imperial languages compiled in the lateQianlong era of theQing dynasty (also said to be compiled in 1794). The work containsManchu lexemes and their translations into various administrative languages such asTibetan,Mongolian, post-classical or vernacularChagatai (known asUyghur since 1921) andChinese.
The literal meaning of the Chinese title (御製五體清文鑑,Yù zhì wǔ tǐ Qīng wén jiàn) is "Imperially-Published Five-Script Textual Mirror of Qing", which is translated into the other languages are as follows:
The Yuzhi Wuti Qing Wenjian is organized into six boxes, containing 36 volumes on 2563 pages. The original work contained 32 volumes, with a four-volume supplement. It is divided into divisions (such as "Heaven Division"), category (such as "Astronomy"), with the categories further separated into types. There are 56 divisions, 318 categories, 616 types, with a total of 18,671 terms. Each term has eight rows. From the top, the rows contain Manchu, Tibetan, a mechanical Tibetan transliteration into Manchu, aphonetic Tibetan transcription into Manchu, Mongolian,Chagatai, a transcription of Chagatai into Manchu, and Chinese.
For some terms, synonyms were included in the target languages (except Chinese). Thus, there are 19,503 terms used in Mongolian corresponding to 18,145 terms in Chinese (with 526 synonyms noted in Chinese). TheManchu text was largely based on theBeijing dialect of Manchu, using vertical regular script, with sentences terminated with punctuation (᠈), but no subsidiary pronunciation marks.Tibetan used the common written Tibetan usage at the time, in horizontal script inUchen script (དབུ་མེད་), with terms that could not be written into a single line divided at syllabic boundaries, and terminating punctuation marks (།). Under the Tibetan was the Manchu transliteration, using Manchu phonemes to transliterate Tibetan letters to allow two-way transliteration and using distinctive characters for initial and medial phonemes; further, to transliterate some Tibetan letters, some new written forms for Manchu phonemes were invented (including initialng and terminal vowels). Below the Manchu transliteration was the Manchu transcription to record the pronunciation in theLhasa/Ü-Tsang dialect, due to thesubstantial difference betweenwritten Tibetan andspoken Tibetan. ForMongolian, the common written Mongolian of that time was used, in horizontal regular script, with punctuation marks at the end (᠈). Chagatai is written horizontally inNastaʿlīq script, with terms that could not be written into a single line divided at syllabic boundaries and no terminal punctuations. Below Chagatai was Manchu transcription to record theeastern Xinjiang Turkic pronunciation,[6] due to the substantial difference between Chagatai and the spoken language of Xinjiang at the time; the sounds showed characteristics of the pronunciations used in theHami/Turpan regions;[7]Chinese was spelled in traditional Chinese characters, also in vertical regular script, with the diction showing the influence of common usage in theBeijing Mandarin dialect. No punctuation or pronunciation marks were used.
Below were the renderings of the first term, "Heaven," on the first page of the first section, "Astronomy":
| explanation | entry | Latin transcription |
|---|---|---|
| Entry in Manchu | ᠠᠪᡴᠠ᠈ | abka |
| Tibetan translation | གནམ། | gnam |
| Transliteration of Tibetan into Manchu letters | ᡤᠨᠠᠮ | gnam |
| Transcription of the Tibetan pronunciation in Manchu script | ᠨᠠᠮ | nam |
| Translation into Mongolian | ᠲᠨᠭᠷᠢ᠈ | t[e]ngri |
| Translation into Chagatai | آسمان | āsmān |
| Transcription of Chagatai in Manchu script | ᠠᠰᠮᠠᠨ | asman |
| Translation into Chinese | 天 | tiān |
The dictionary has been transmitted in three knownmanuscripts, held by the BeijingPalace Museum, theYonghe Temple, and theBritish Museum in London. A print edition doesn’t seem to exist.[original research?] In 1957, thePublishing House of Minority Nationalities published a photo-mechanic reproduction of the dictionary, which was reprinted in 1998. In 1967, Japanese scholars recompiled it and added Latin transliteration into a work known as theInterpretation of the Wuti Qing Wenjian. In 1967, an edition was published inJapan that added transliterations of Manchu, the Manchu transcriptions of the other languages and a Japanese translation. In 2013, a critical edition with complete transliterations as well as indices for all five languages was published inGermany.
The dictionary is based on theImperially-Published Four-Script Textual Mirror of Qing (御製四體清文鑑;Yuzhi Siti Qing Wenjian), with Chagatai added as fifth language.[8]
The four-language version of the dictionary with Tibetan was in turn based on an earlier three-language version with Manchu, Mongolian, and Chinese called theImperially-Published Manchu Mongol Chinese Three pronunciation explanation mirror of Qing (御製滿珠蒙古漢字三合切音清文鑑;Yuzhi Manzhu Menggu Hanzi San He Jieyin Qingwen Jian, Mongolian: (Qaɣan-u bicigsen) Manzu Mongɣol Kitad üsüg ɣurban züil-ün ajalɣu nejilegsen toli bicig).[9]
The three-language version was in turn based on theImperially-Published Revised and Enlarged mirror of Qing (御製增訂清文鑑;Yuzhi Zengding Qing Wenjian, Manchu: Han-i araha nonggime toktobuha Manju gisun-i buleku bithe)[10][11] in Manchu and Chinese, which used both Manchu script to transcribe Chinese words andChinese characters to transcribe Manchu words withfanqie.[12] It was used inbanner schools as a textbook.[13]
A tetraglot dictionary (御製増訂清文鑑;Yuzhi Zengding Qing Wenjian) in manuscript form exists in the Harvard-Yenching Library, where black ink is used for Chinese and Manchu and red ink for Tibetan and Mongolian.[14] In 1708 theYuzhi Qing Wenjian (御制清文鉴, "han-i araha manju gisun buleku bithe") was published.[15][16]
