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The Manchu monolingual Mirror (Yuzhi Qingwen Jian) commissioned by the Kangxi emperor is an invaluable resource for scholars of both Manchu and Qing history as well as Manchu linguistics. Jiang Qiao emphasizes and is sensitive to the dual utility of the text in Kangxi Yuzhi Qingwen Jian Yanjiu, a comprehensive survey of its composition and signifi­ cance as the product of certain political, sociocultural, and linguistic conditions.

The book opens with a discussion of previous research on the Mirror in various count­ ries and the importance of conducting such studies. Then Jiang proceeds to describe Manchu language and society before and around the time the Mirror was compiled as well as the authors' backgrounds, including that of the most prominent contributor, the Kangxi emperor. She asserts that the Mirror both reflects these circumstances of its creation and could have only arisen out of them. Her argument that Manchu needed to have reached a specific level of linguistic sophistication in order to have enough material for a publication like the Mirror is particularly insightful.

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