the court language of the Ming Dynasty (hence “Mandarin”)
"Mandarin" doesn't derive from Chinese language; it has nothing to do with the word Ming (明）. It derives from Malay language, where the original term meant courtiers or something like that. The eruos transposed this word from Malay speaking areas of SEA and applied it to Chinese bureaucrats.
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Oh, so I was way off then
"Mandarin" doesn't derive from Chinese language; it has nothing to do with the word Ming (明）. It derives from Malay language, where the original term meant courtiers or something like that. The eruos transposed this word from Malay speaking areas of SEA and applied it to Chinese bureaucrats.