Sinology

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(Redirected from Sinologists)

Sinology is the study of China, which usually requires a foreign scholar to have command of the Chinese language.

Sinology began about 1600 with the missionaries, such as Father Iakinf, Fr. Matteo Ricci, S.J., Fr. Adam Schall, S.J. and others that went to China and studied language, cultures and beliefs. They translated some parts of Classical Chinese literature into Latin and other Western languages, and the Bible into Chinese. They also wrote many letters from China that were avidly read when China began to be considered politically or economically interesting.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, other missionaries such as James Legge (1815–1897) pushed for sinology as a discipline in Western universities. In 1837, the Reverend Samuel Kidd (1797–1843) became England's first professor of Chinese. Secular scholars gradually outnumbered missionaries and in the 20th century sinology slowly gained a substantial presence in Western universities.

In Japan, Sinology (Shinagaku 支那学 in Japanese) was established with an effective combination of traditional Confucian study and Western Sinology. It was later reorganized as a part of Oriental Studies.

In China itself, the study of China knowledge is often called "Guoxue 国学". This dated back to the 20th century. Chinese experts on China knowledge are often called "Guoxue Dashi 国学大师", whereas foreign scholars on China knowledge are called "Sinologist".

Famous recognized sinologists, see List of Sinologists for more:

Russia