Axel Schuessler is a German sinologist and linguist, and Emeritus Professor at Wartburg College, Iowa, USA, known for his pioneering work in Old Chinese etymology and historical Chinese phonology.
Axel Schuessler has conducted research and taught in Sinology and historical Chinese linguistics for several decades. He served on the faculty of Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, where he became Professor of Chinese and linguistics and is now Emeritus Professor. His work has focused especially on the reconstruction of Old Chinese.
SchuesslerâÂÂs ABC dictionary is widely regarded as a landmark in Old Chinese studies, serving as a benchmark for further research into the origins and phonological development of Chinese vocabulary.
The term âÂÂMinimal Old Chineseâ refers to reconstructions limited to phonological features with reasonable consensus among scholars after Karlgren, chiefly following Baxter (1992) with adjustments in notation. Schuessler compiles reconstructed forms for graphs attested from early writing (circa 1250â¯BCE) down to the third centuryâ¯BCE.
In addition to Old Chinese, Schuessler introduces an intermediate layer he terms âÂÂLater Han Chinese,â covering roughly the second centuryâ¯CE, between Old and Middle Chinese periods.