Abstract
From 1513, Chinese mystified Western observers with its phonology and grammar. In the 19th century, von Klaproth, Lepsius and Karlgren extended the comparative method to Chinese and established Chinese historical phonology and grammar, but a lineage of benighted thinkers promulgated a racist rendition of language typology. This trend reached a crescendo during the Opium Wars and culminated in the Sino-Tibetan family tree model. Whereas sound comparative linguistics supports von Klaproth’s Trans-Himalayan model, embattled Sino-Tibetanists, unable to adduce evidence for their phylogenetic beliefs, today seek recourse to lexicostatistics.
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