Professor Liu says that during the Ming (1386-1644) and Ch'ing (1644-1911) dynasties communication with the West was close, and, as a result, foreign words such as sha fa (sofa), and ya pien (opium), and yin ch'ing (engine) became increasingly common.
劉兆祐教授指出，明、清之際，中、西往來密切，外來語也越來越多，像「沙拉」、「鴉片」、「引擎」… … 等，都是明清以後乃至近世才有的外來語。