到上世紀七十年代為止，高本漢的《中國音韻學研究》被公認為國內外最重要的漢語音韻學著作。這也使得他之前的學者關於音韻學研究的著作和論文的成就被遮掩。沃爾皮切粒的《中國音韻學》就是其中之一。本文的目標是進一步分析《中國音韻學》一書的主要成就、不足及其影響力。此外，本文的另一個目的是證明在高本漢之前已經有歐美學者對傳統的中國音韻學作出貢獻。

For almost forty years, Karlgren’s Études sur la phonologie chinoise has served as the reference textbook about Chinese phonology in Europe as well as throughout East Asia and the United States. Unfortunately, Karlgren’s magnum opus has obscured the previously published work on the subject. One of the pioneering works overshadowed by Karlgren is Zenone Volpicelli’s Chinese Phonology (1896). This paper shall not embark on a campaign to discredit the merits of Bernhard Karlgren. Rather, it shall evaluate the major breakthroughs, the weak points and the legacy of Volpicelli’s ideas on traditional Chinese phonology. Furthermore, this paper also humbly aims to elaborate the point that long before Karlgren there were Western scholars who had, ante tempus, made significant contributions to the study of Chinese phonology.