Outline of sinology

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to sinology:

Sinology – The study of China and things related to China. In today's usage, the term most often refers to work by non-Chinese or Chinese living outside China. Sino- is derived from Latin Sinae or Sinim ("the Chinese"), the origin of which is debatable. In the context of area studies, sinology is usually known as Chinese studies.

Essence

• China – East Asian country that is the world's most populous state (over 1.3 billion citizens) and the second-largest country by land area.^[1]
• Chinese Culture – one of the world's oldest and most complex cultures,^[2][3] with varying regional customs and traditions in the fields of architecture, literature, music, visual arts, martial arts, cuisine, and more.
  • Culture of the People's Republic of China – blend of traditional Chinese culture, communism and international modern and post-modern influences, particularly other countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia.
  • Culture of Taiwan – blend of traditional and modern understandings of Confucianist Han Chinese, Japanese, European, American, global, local, and Taiwanese aborigines cultures formed into a Taiwanese cultural identity.
• Chinese literature – extends over thousands of years, beginning with the Hundred Schools of Thought that occurred during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BCE). Widespread woodblock printing during the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and the invention of movable type printing (990–1051) during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) rapidly spread written knowledge throughout China.
• Chinese philosophy – Chinese culture of thought spanning thousands of years, much of which began during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought".^[4]
• Science and technology in China – ancient Chinese advances began 2,500 years ago during the Warring States period. Ancient Chinese philosophers made significant advances in science, technology, mathematics, medicine and astronomy. Knowledge expanded with exchange of Western and Chinese discoveries.

History

Main article: History of sinology

General concepts

• Greater China – refers to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.^[5]
• Overseas Chinese – people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside of Greater China.
• Sinophile – a person who demonstrates a strong interest in aspects of Chinese culture or its people.^[6]
• Sinosphere – refers to a grouping of countries and regions that are currently inhabited with a majority of Chinese population or were historically under Chinese cultural influence. It is also known as Chinese cultural sphere and Chinese character cultural sphere.

Sinologists

Main article: List of sinologists

• Édouard Chavannes – French sinologist best known for his 1) translations from Sima Qian's Shiji, sections of the Hou Hanshu, and the Weilüe 2) studies of Han dynasty stone carvings and Chinese religion, including the groundbreaking study of the worship of Mount Tai in ancient China. His students included Henri Maspero, Paul Pelliot and Marcel Granet.
• Hans Georg Conon von der Gabelentz – German general linguist and sinologist, author of comprehensive Chinesische Grammatik.
• Henri Maspero – French sinologist who conducted pioneering works on Taoism.
• Ibn Battuta – Moroccan Berber world explorer
• James Legge – Scottish sinologist was a missionary, the first professor of Chinese at Oxford University, and with Max Müller prepared the 50 volume Sacred Books of the East.
• Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat – French sinologist who studied languages of the Far East and produced the Essai sur la langue et la littérature chinoises,^[7] and the Chinese novel Iu-kiao-li, ou les deux cousines, roman chinois.
• Joseph Needham – British sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science.
• Marcel Granet – French sinologist, one of the first to bring sociological methods to the study of China.
• Marco Polo – Venetian merchant traveler whose book Il Milione introduced Europeans to Central Asia and China.
• Matteo Ricci – Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission.
• Michele Ruggieri – Italian Jesuit priest was one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, co-author of the first Portuguese-Chinese dictionary, and can be described as the first European sinologist.
• Nicolae Milescu – Moldavian writer, traveler, geographer, and diplomat who was named ambassador of the Russian Empire to Beijing in 1675. He submitted to the Foreign Ministry three volumes of notes of his travels through Siberia and China and later Travels through Siberia to the Chinese borders.
• Nikita Bichurin – one of the founding fathers of Sinology who translated a number of ancient and medieval Chinese manuscripts and published many volumes on Chinese and Mongolian history, geography, religion, statistics, and agriculture.
• Paul Demiéville – studied the Franco-Belgian school of Buddhology. His 1947 work 'Mirror of the Mind' was widely read in the U.S. and inaugurated a series by him on subitism and gradualism.^[8]
• Séraphin Couvreur – French Jesuit missionary to China, sinologist, and creator of the EFEO Chinese transcription.

See also

• Area studies
• List of basic Taiwan topics
• Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation

References

1. "Countries of the world ordered by land area". Listofcountriesoftheworld.com. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
2. "Chinese Dynasty Guide - The Art of Asia - History & Maps". Minneapolis Institute of Art. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
3. "Guggenheim Museum - China: 5,000 years". Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation & Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. 1998. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
4. Ebrey, Patricia (2010). The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge University Press. p. 42.
5. "Apple overtakes Lenovo in China sales". Financial Times. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
6. The Free Dictionary.com
7. Kistner, Otto (1869). "Full title of Essai sur la langue et la littérature chinoises". Buddha and his doctrines: a bibliographical essay. London: Tübner & Co. p. 27.
8. See Chan/Zen Studies in English: The State Of The Field by Bernard Faure

External links

• (Chinese) Guoxue
• Chinese Text Project
• Torbjörn Lodén, "Swedish Sinology: A Historical Perspective"
• Sinology Project, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• The Sinology Institute, Beijing, China