Research on Joachim Bouvet's Chinese
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Jesuit Interpretations of Marvellous Births
226 Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Jesuit Interpretations of Marvellous Births Nos voyageurs missionnaires rapportent, avec candeur, que lorsqu’ils parlèrent au sage empereur Kangxi des variations considérables de la chrono logie de la Vulgate, des Septante, et des Samaritains, Kangxi leur répondit : « Est-il possible que les livres en qui vous croyez se com- battent ? » Voltaire, La Philosophie de l’histoire (1969), p. 153. Our missionary travelers relate, with candour, that, when they spoke to that sage emperor, Kangxi, of the great chronological variations of the Vulgate, of the Septuagint, and of the Samaritans, Kangxi asked them, if it were [really] possible, that the books in which they believed, contra- dicted each other? Voltaire, The Philosophy of History (1829), p. 107. ⸪ Introduction The fourth chapter shifts the focus from conversations between texts within Chinese language and culture to the transfer of these conversations to and between texts of European languages and cultures. More concretely, various interpretations by Jesuit missionaries of the historical texts on marvellous births mentioned by the Chinese classics will be discussed in order to investi- gate some characteristics of intercultural hermeneutics. It will be shown that this transfer was to a large extent shaped by the interpretations that were made by Chinese commentators before the transfer. Moreover it will become clear that the diversity of Chinese interpretations was echoed in a diversity of Jesuit interpretations. Regarding this diversity of Jesuit interpretations, -
Contemplating the Future of CHINESE BIBLE TRANSLATION: a Functionalist APPROACH
BT Vol. 63, No. 1: 1-16 CONTEMPLATING THE FUTURE OF CHINESE BIBLE TRANSLATION: A FUNCTIONALIST APPROACH KUO-WEI PENG [email protected] The author is Translations Officer at the Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship of the American Bible Society. Functionalist approach to translation: A sketch To set up a framework for discussion, we shall first visit some developments in a functionalist approach to translation in recent decades. In Toward a Science of Translating (1964) and The Theory and Practice of Translation (1969, with Charles R. Taber), Eugene A. Nida distinguishes between formal identity and dynamic equivalence in translation (e.g., Nida and Taber 1969, 12) and advocates that the focus in translating should not be the “form of the message” but “the response of the receptor” (Nida and Taber 1969, 1). The task of translating, then, “consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source- language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style” (Nida and Taber 1969, 12). To accomplish this task, Nida proposes a three-step process in translating, starting with the grammatical and semantic analysis of the source- language text (source text), followed by transferring the components identified in the first step to the receptor’s language (target language), and finishing with a restructuring of the components in the target language (Nida and Taber 1969, 33). In a later book, From One Language to Another (1986, with Jan de Waard), Nida refines his approach by replacing the expression “dynamic equivalence” with “functional equivalence” (de Waard and Nida 1986, vii) and reiterates that translating is actually communicating, and translating means translating meaning (de Waard and Nida 1986, 9ff. -
The Rise of Agricultural Civilization in China: the Disparity Between Archeological Discovery and the Documentary Record and Its Explanation
SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS Number 175 December, 2006 The Rise of Agricultural Civilization in China: The Disparity between Archeological Discovery and the Documentary Record and Its Explanation by Zhou Jixu Center for East Asian Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Chinese Department, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan Victor H. Mair, Editor Sino-Platonic Papers Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305 USA [email protected] www.sino-platonic.org SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS is an occasional series edited by Victor H. Mair. The purpose of the series is to make available to specialists and the interested public the results of research that, because of its unconventional or controversial nature, might otherwise go unpublished. The editor actively encourages younger, not yet well established, scholars and independent authors to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contributions in any of the major scholarly languages of the world, including Romanized Modern Standard Mandarin (MSM) and Japanese, are acceptable. In special circumstances, papers written in one of the Sinitic topolects (fangyan) may be considered for publication. Although the chief focus of Sino-Platonic Papers is on the intercultural relations of China with other peoples, challenging and creative studies on a wide variety of philological subjects will be entertained. This series is not the place for safe, sober, and stodgy presentations. Sino-Platonic Papers prefers lively work that, while taking reasonable risks to advance the field, capitalizes on brilliant new insights into the development of civilization. The only style-sheet we honor is that of consistency. Where possible, we prefer the usages of the Journal of Asian Studies. -
The Jesuit Translation and Interpretation of the Yijing (Classic of Changes) in Historical and Cultural Perspective
International Forum of Teaching and Studies Vol. 16 No. 2 2020 The Jesuit Translation and Interpretation of the Yijing (Classic of Changes) in Historical and Cultural Perspective Yang Ping Zhejiang International Studies University, Hangzhou, China [Abstract] This article examines the Jesuit translation and interpretation of the Yijing (I Ching, or Classic of Changes) from the historical and cultural perspective. The Jesuits dissected Chinese characters for religious interpretation, equated the trigrams and hexagrams with Christian conceptions, and linked Chinese cultural heroes with biblical figures in order to establish compatibility between the Yijing and the Bible. Although the Jesuit hermeneutical strategy described as “Figurism” failed in the end, this interpretive approach was part of a long tradition of Yijing exegesis, textual transmission, and cultural transformations, which sheds new light on questions of cross-cultural exchanges and understanding. [Keywords] The Yijing, Jesuits, translation, interpretation, Figurism Introduction The Yijing (I Ching, or Classic of Changes, 易經) began as a divination manual about three thousand years ago in ancient China, but it evolved to become “the first of the [Chinese] classics.” With its philosophical sophistication, psychological potential, and encyclopedic comprehensiveness, it has had unrivalled prestige in China since ancient times. As Steve Moore puts it: “If the importance of books is measured by the numbers of their readers, the amount of commentary written on them, the quantity of editions and translations…then surely two would appear far ahead of the rest of the field. One, of course, is the Christian Bible. The other, though it may surprise readers brought up in Western traditions of literature and learning (and especially those who regard it as little more than a fortune-telling book), is the I Ching, or “Book of Changes” (Hacker et al., 2002, p. -
I Ideology of Power and Power of Ideology in Early China
i Ideology of Power and Power of Ideology in Early China © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2015 | doi 10.1163/9789004299337_001 ii Sinica Leidensia Edited by Barend J. ter Haar Maghiel van Crevel In co-operation with P.K. Bol, D.R. Knechtges, E.S. Rawski, W.L. Idema, H.T. Zurndorfer VOLUME 124 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/sinl iii Ideology of Power and Power of Ideology in Early China Edited by Yuri Pines Paul R. Goldin Martin Kern LEIDEN | BOSTON iv Cover illustration: Tripod cooking vessel with lid (ding), late 6th century bc, (Eastern Zhou dynasty, Spring and Autumn period, 770–ca. 470 bc) Bronze, h. 23.0 cm., w. 27.0 cm., d. 21.0 cm. (9 1/16 × 10 5/8 × 8 1/4 in.). Museum purchase from the C.D. Carter Collection, by subscription. y1965-24 a-b. Photo: © Princeton University Art Museum, Image courtesy of Princeton University Art Museum. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ideology of power and power of ideology in early China / edited by Yuri Pines, Paul R. Goldin, Martin Kern. pages cm. -- (Sinica Leidensia, ISSN 0169-9563 ; volume 124) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-29929-0 (hardback : acid-free paper) -- ISBN 978-90-04-29933-7 (e-book) 1. Political science--China--History--To 1500. 2. Power (Social sciences)--China--History-- To 1500. 3. Ideology--Political aspects--China--History--To 1500. 4. Political culture--China-- History--To 1500. 5. China--Politics and government--To 221 B.C. 6. China--Politics and government--221 B.C.-960 A.D. -
The Investiture of the Gods, Feng Shen Yanyi
Investiture of the Gods or Feng Shen Yanyi by Xu Zhonglin The Investiture of the Gods also called The Creation of the Gods, or simply by its native name Feng Shen Yanyi, meaning “Inauguration of Doctrines Dramatized by the Gods,” is an ancient masterpiece. Published around the 16th-century, it has been claimed a “novel” merging mythology, folklore and history. As to its key thematics, Investiture of the Gods features a work that mostly personifies myths that narrate the Cosmogony of the World according to the space-time established by the Chinese mythology. Editor 2 Contents 1 Illustration The Investiture Great Wall-Corridor Chapter 1 King Zhou and Goddess Nu Wa Chapter 2 The Rebellion of Su Hu Chapter 3 Daji enters the Palace Chapter 4 The Fox Sprite murders Daji Chapter 5 Cloud Dweller presents a Pine Wood Sword Chapter 6 The Burning Pillar Torture Chapter 7 Fei Zhong plots to depose the Queen Chapter 8 Princes take Flight Chapter 9 The Prime Minister's Resolve Chapter 10 The Discovery of Thunder-quaker Chapter 11 The III Fortunes of the Grand Dukes Chapter 12 The Birth of Nezha Chapter 13 Combat between two Fairies Chapter 14 Reincarnation with Lotus Flowers Chapter 15 Jiang Ziya leaves Mount Kunlun Chapter 16 Burning the Jade Lute Specter Chapter 17 The Serpent Pit Chapter 18 Flight from Morning Song Chapter 19 Gifts to the King Chapter 20 San Yisheng bribes the corrupt Courtiers Chapter 21 Flight through the Five Passes 1. The text, though partly abridged, amounts the supposedly original one hundred chapters. -
The Jesuits and Chinese Science*
The Jesuits and Chinese Science* Chicheng Ma† June 2019 Abstract: Based on the historical context of the Jesuit mission to China from 1580, this paper examines the role of knowledge diffusion in scientific production. To facilitate their China mission, the Jesuits introduced European sciences to Chinese cultural elites—the Confucian literati. This stimulated the literati toward scientific research. In places where the Jesuits diffused European sciences, the number of Chinese scientific works increased significantly. But this effect disappeared after the Pope dismissed the Jesuit mission in 1773. The finding questions the conventional wisdom that the Confucian literati of imperial China disparaged science, and demonstrates the importance of opening to knowledge flow in scientific progress. Keywords: Jesuit mission; Science; Knowledge Diffusion; Elites; Human Capital; China JEL Codes: N35; N75; O15; O33; Z12 * Preliminary draft. I thank Ying Bai, Zhiwu Chen, Jeremiah Dittmar, Ruixue Jia, James Kung, Jin Li, Luigi Pascali, Kaixiang Peng, Felipe Valencia Caicedo, Lingwei Wu, Noam Yuchtman, and the seminar participants at the National University of Singapore, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Baptist University, Jinan University, Peking University, Sun Yat-sen University, Fudan University, Shandong University, Economic History Workshop (HKU), and The Sixth Asian Historical Economics Conference for helpful comments. Xinhao Li, Xinran Liu, Xinning Ren and Xiaofan Zhu provided excellent research assistance. I am also grateful to Hong Kong Research Grants Council and The University of Hong Kong for generous financial support. The remaining errors are mine. † Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. Email: [email protected]. 1 1. Introduction Thanks to the missionary expansion of the Jesuits, European sciences were introduced to imperial China since 1580. -
Copyright by James Joshua Hudson 2015
Copyright by James Joshua Hudson 2015 The Dissertation Committee for James Joshua Hudson Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: River Sands/Urban Spaces: Changsha in Modern Chinese History Committee: Huaiyin Li, Supervisor Mark Metzler Mary Neuburger David Sena William Hurst River Sands/Urban Spaces: Changsha in Modern Chinese History by James Joshua Hudson, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2015 Dedication For my good friend Hou Xiaohua River Sands/Urban Spaces: Changsha in Modern Chinese History James Joshua Hudson, PhD. The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Supervisor: Huaiyin Li This work is a modern history of Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province, from the late nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries. The story begins by discussing a battle that occurred in the city during the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), a civil war that erupted in China during the mid nineteenth century. The events of this battle, but especially its memorialization in local temples in the years following the rebellion, established a local identity of resistance to Christianity and western imperialism. By the 1890’s this culture of resistance contributed to a series of riots that erupted in south China, related to the distribution of anti-Christian tracts and placards from publishing houses in Changsha. During these years a local gentry named Ye Dehui (1864-1927) emerged as a prominent businessman, grain merchant, and community leader. -
The “Beijing Experience” of Eighteenth-Century French Jesuits a Discussion Centered on Lettres Édifiantes Et Curieuses Écrites Des Missions Étrangères
winter 2012–13 35 Chinese Studies in History, vol. 46, no. 2, Winter 2012–13, pp. 35–57. © 2013 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved. Permissions: www.copyright.com ISSN 0009–4633 (print)/ISSN 1558–0407 (online) DOI: 10.2753/CSH0009-4633460202 OU YA N G ZHESHENG The “Beijing Experience” of Eighteenth-Century French Jesuits A Discussion Centered on Lettres édifiantes et curieuses écrites des missions étrangères Abstract: Of the European Jesuit missionaries who went to China during the eighteenth century, the French Jesuits were a notable group. The Lettres édifiantes et curieuses écrites des missions étrangères (Edifying and Curious Letters Written from Foreign Missions), a collection of these missionaries’ correspondences, revealed how the Jesuits described their impression of the city Beijing and the imperial court, their religious activities, and their scientific works. These descriptions played a role in shaping the Europeans’ view of China, contributing to the rise of “chinoiserie” in eighteenth-century Europe. French Jesuits dominated the West’s “Beijing experience” during the eighteenth century. Whether in terms of the numbers of French Jesuits who came to China’s capital and the important roles they played there, or in terms of the weight carried by the historical English translation © 2013 M.E. Sharpe, Inc., from the Chinese text. “Shiba shiji Faguo Yasu huishi de Beijing jingyan: Yi Yesu huishi Zhongguo shujianji weizhongxin de taolun.” Translated by Carissa Fletcher. Ouyang Zhesheng is professor of history at Peking University. Notes renumbered for this edition.—Ed. 35 36 chINESE STUDIES IN HISTORY materials they passed down regarding the “Beijing experience,” the French Jesuits had a marked advantage over the other Western missionaries who came to Beijing. -
Confucian and Christian Canons
論儒家經典西譯與基督教聖經中譯 247 Confucian and Christian Canons 論儒家經典西譯與基督教聖經中譯 Dai Wei-Yang 戴維揚 CONFUCIAN AND CHRISTIAN CANONS 百le initial ideological encounter between Chines€. and Europeans was carriedout mainly by Christian missionaries. Merchants and politicians, with their profit and power orientation, cared little about cultural contacts. Only the educated Christian missionaries bridged the ideological gulf between the Oriental and the Occidental.甘lese missionaries were following out one of the commands of their Lord: Go ye therefore, and teach all na位ons , baptizing 也em in the name of the Father, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commended you. • . 1 Christian teachings had already carried missionaries and proselytes 切 almost every corner of the world. Since the Chinese comprise almost a quarter of the world's popula tion, the territory of China represents one of the most important missionary areas on earth. Missionary efforts in a culturally advanced country such as China, however, are !"~lOre complicated than in countries lacking highly-developed cultural identities. In the history of Christianity's proselytizing activities in China, three groups of Christian missionaries came to the fore at three different times. In chronological order, they are the Nestorians, the Catholics, and the Protestants. The goals of 血 is article will be to examine the accomplishments of each group in regard to making the Bible available to the Chinese on one hand, and Confucian canons to the West, on the other. A. The Nestor i ans The first group of Christian missionaries to reach the Middle Kingdom was the 1. Matthew 28 :19-20. Sc riptural references are usually to the King James Version, unless otherwise noted. -
The Evolution of the Management Thoughts of Confucianism, Buddhism And
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 101 4th International Conference on Education, Management and Computing Technology (ICEMCT 2017) The Evolution of the Management Thoughts of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism in Zhongnan Area Song Hongqiao Xi’an Fanyi University, Xi’an 710105, China [email protected] Key words: Zhongnan culture, Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism, Ritual system, Legal system Abstract: Mountain Zhongnan, located in the middle of Qinling mountains, is a natural boundary between the southern and northern China. Characterized by magnificent landscape and strategic meaning, it is a place adored by rulers. As early as the very beginning of Zhou dynasty, in the east of Zhongnan mountainous area, Feng jing and Hao jing (‘hao’ means brightness)was successively established alongside Feng River(one of the eight major rivers of Xi’an city, also known as the branch of Wei River ). In spite of the vicissitudes of dynasties and ruling governments, this area had remained close to the heart of dynasties, such as Qin, Han, Sui and Tang. Thanks to its unique geographical condition, Mountain Zhongnan is not only the convergence of three main thoughts in China’s history, namely Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism, but also the sacred palace where the China’s ancient Ruling thoughts and ethic morals came into being. Zhongnan culture is a crystallization of Chinese material cultures and spiritual cultures. It integrated Nomadic Farming civilization of south China with the agriculture civilization of central China, the Rule of Ritual of Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) with the Rule of Law of Qin Dynasty (221-207BC), the Ba Wang Dao(The Rule of justice and penalty, founded by Emperor Xuan ) of Han Dynasty with Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism of Sui(581-618)and Tang dynasties(618-907). -
Jade Myths and the Formation of Chinese Identity
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, April 2017, Vol. 7, No. 4, 377-398 doi: 10.17265/2159-5836/2017.04.001 D DAVID PUBLISHING Jade Myths and the Formation of Chinese Identity YE Shu-xian LIU Wan-er Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China Reality is constructed by societies, whose process must be analyzed by the sociology of knowledge. The “reality”, taken as granted by the public, has sharp contrast from one society to another. By Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman: The Social Construction of Reality Chinese civilization is the only surviving one that has a continual history that lasts for several thousand years since the Stone Age. What’s the secret of its lasting cultural vitality? How can it live through numerous military conflicts and political transitions and still firmly hold a large population of various ethnics within its administration? A long-established cultural centripetal force, i.e. cultural identity shared by multi parties, shall be the key to former questions. According to current focus of cultural research, this force is termed as “Chinese identity”, which explores the formation and continuation of Chinese civilization from the perspective of cultural identity. What is cultural identity? A simplified answer is: Cultural identity fundamentally refers to ethnicity. This characterizes a group whose members claim a common history or origin and a specific cultural heritage, no matter that the history or origin is often mythicized or that the cultural legacy is never totally homogeneous. The essential thing is that these common elements are lived by the concerned group as distinctive characteristics and perceived as such by others1.