Abstract
Mǎshì wéntōng (1898) is the first grammar of Chinese in Chinese and the founding work of Chinese grammatography, based on Western models but availing itself of indigenous grammatographic traditions as well. Despite or, indeed, because it is replete with tensions and contradictions, the work attracts the attention of grammarians up to the present day.
The article is conceived as an introduction to the work itself as well as the state of art of its research.