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Sinology, Jewish Identity and Holocaust Memory: Ref l ections on Israeli Sinologist Irene Eber

Song Lihong

Abstract:As one of the founders of Israeli Sinology, Irene Eber attaches great importance to intellectual and cultural history and is concerned with almost all of aspects of Sino-Judaic cross-cultural communication, thus creating a philosophy of her own.As a Holocaust survivor, she narrates in her memoirThe Choiceher childhood traumatic experiences.This book is of great value not only to the study of the relationship between Holocaust memory and Jewish identity, but also a key to perceive her academic orientation and choice.Overseas Sinology has become a prominent subject in China, but the person of the overseas Sinologist and the academic overall context should not be ignored.

Key words:Sinology, Jewish Identity, Holocaust, Irene Eber

A Study of Sasakawa’s Views on Chinese Fiction and Drama

Zhao Miao

Abstract:Focusing on Sasakawa’sA Minor History of Chinese Fiction and DramaandThe History of Chinese Literature, this article explores Sasakawa’s views on the history of Chinese literature, and points out that Japanese scholars commented from a pure aesthetical perspectiveon Chinese fiction and drama in modern times because they were influenced by the modern European study of literature.As a result, this brought the transformation of Japanese ideas of literary history.Starting from the late Meiji Period, Chinese literary study in Japan has been focused on folk literature, which is totally different from traditional Confucianism studies.The interpretation and exegetic reading of Chinese fiction and drama has also been changed fundamentally, and Sasakawa was the one who first made this transition.

Key words:Sasakawa, Chinese fiction and drama, Japanese Sinology

Translationsand Studies of Contemporary Chinese Novels in the English-speaking World

Jiang Zhiqin

Abstract:This article explores the translation and interpretation of contemporary Chinese novels in the English-speaking world, dealing with two main periods: the “Seventeen-year” and Cultural Revolution period,and the New Era period.It analyzes the cultural identities and values of translators, discusses the communication channels and effects, probes into the insights and blindness of contemporary Chinese novel study in Englishspeaking countries, and their complementary interaction with studies in China.By doing this, we hope to provide some inspiration and experience for the trend of “Chinese literature going global”.

Key words:contemporary Chinese novel, English-speaking world, translation and study

Translating Classic Chinese Drama from the Other’s Cultural Perspective: A Case Study ofFamous Chinese Playsby L.C.Arlington and Harold Acton

Lü Shisheng and Yuan Fang

Abstract:The article attempts to examineFamous Chinese Plays, an English version by L.C.Atlington and Harold Acton, and finds it differs strikingly from other English translations of classic Chinese plays in terms of textual selection and translation strategies.Mr.Arlington and Prof.Acton’s selection are focused on the originals serving moral education, which are the mainstream theatrical themes.Their translation strategy is seen as being target-reader oriented, featuring deletion, addition, structural adjustment, etc.Furthermore, comparison is often made of historical figures of the source text with those of Western culture.In this way, two different cultural experiences are brought into contact, which assuredly facilitates the target reader’s reception of Chinese plays.

Key words:literary translation, classic Chinese plays, L.C.Arlington, Harold Acton,Famous Chinese Plays

A Preliminary Study of the First English Version ofTheFour Books: David Collie’sThe Chinese Classical Works

Guo Lei

Abstract:In the history of translation and dissemination of Chinese classics, the Protestant missionary David Collie represents an important transition period.As the first complete English version ofFour Booksin the world, his translation has his particular motives and structural features.Moreover, it shows the obvious characteristic of criticizing Confucian thought compared to those in the history of the translation of Chinese classics wanting to unite with Confucian thought or expand upon it.Collie’s version has exerted acertain influence in the cultural circles of Britain and the United States, but so far, there has been hardly any overall, objective and fair evaluation of it.

Key words:David Collie,The Chinese Classical Works,English version ofThe Four Books

F.W.Baller and HisA Mandarin Primerin the Historical Perspective of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

Guo Lixia

Abstract:A Mandarin Primer, compiled by F.W.Baller, was one of the most refined Chinese textbooks among those done by westerners in China during the second half of the 19th century.It had been revised 14 times within 50 years and was a monumental work either as a textbook or document of Mandarin Chinese of 19th century.Representing Baller’s centralideas about Chinese language and teaching as well as learning, this book might shed light on teaching Chinese as a second language nowadays.

Key words:A Mandarin Primer, F.W.Baller, ideas of Chinese language, conception of teaching

The Transmission and Renewal of Missionary Understanding of Chinese Linguistics at the Turn of the Eighteenth Century: A Case Study on a Manuscript in the Vatican Library

Wu Huiyi

Abstract:As Catholic missionaries were the principal mediators between China and Europe during the Ming-Qing period, their linguistic training has attracted much scholarly attention.This article examines this training process, through a case study of the French Jesuit Jean-François Foucquet.Foucquet’s personal notebook during his first two years in China (1699-1701) is preserved in the Vatican Library (stack number Borgia Latino 523).By combining three sets of data, namely 1) a micro-analysis of grammar, vocabulary lists, conversation guides and lists of Chinese books in Foucquet’s notebook, 2) other extant versions of these texts, and 3) contextual materials from Foucquet himself and contemporaneous missionaries, this article explores Foucquet’s initiation into China’s language and culture.In doing so, it analyzes the modalities of the transmission of missionary linguistic knowledge during this period.In addition, by comparing these modalities with the experience of earlier missionaries, we also hope this article will shed light on the characteristics and limitations of the knowledge structures of Foucquet’s generation of missionaries regarding matters of Chinese language and culture.

Key words:Jean-François Foucquet, Francisco Varo, Jesuit missionaries, linguistic training

Formation of the “Jingdezhen Myth” in Eighteenth-century France:A Case Study of Sino-French Cultural Exchange in the Sense of the Growth of Feeling

Meng Hua

Abstract:Widely circulated in eighteenth-century France, letters about Jingdezhen written by missionaries to China created a “myth” in the sense as understood in comparative literature.This paper explores the formation of this myth in its various historical and cultural dimensions, from the perspective of the growth of feeling.Taking an example of François Boucher’s paintings of “chinoiserie”, the paper further analyses the role of inspiration and nourishment in Rococo art played by Chinese porcelain.The paper concludes that exchange and collision with other cultures may contribute to a nation’s renewal of feeling, which is inseparable from spiritual and intellectual history.

Key words:Jingdezhen, Chinese porcelain, Age of Enlightenment, Rococo,chinoiserie,François-Xavier D’Entrecolles

East Meets West: Cross-cultural Issues in Translating theBibleinto Chinese

Lihi Yariv-Laor Trans.Liu Yan and Wu Yuxuan

Abstract:The efforts to render the Bible accessible and comprehensible to Chinese audience constitute an enthralling piece of history in the encounter between East and West.It is well known that the Bible constitutes a peculiar case of translation, such asMorrison and Milne’s version(1823),Delegates’Version(1854),Schereschewsky’s Version(1874) andUnion Version(1919) in which one can distinguish three main phenomena that may signal a difficulty in transmission: alteration, supplementation and omission.It means the operational strategies may be dictated by cultural considerations in any translation work by definition.

Key words:Chinese Bible versions, cultural considerations, translation strategies

Pierre Hoang and Etienne Zi: The First Two Chinese Winners of Prix Stanislas Julien

Wang Guoqiang

Abstract:The Prix Stanislas Julien, presented by the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres of France,is one of the most influential prizes in the field of international Chinese studies.Pierre Hoang and Etienne Zi who were the first two winners, shared the prizeof 1899.Moreover, Pierre Hoang won the 1914 Prix for the second time by virtue of hisCatalogue des tremblements de terre signalés en Chine d'après les sources chinoises.It is necessary to recount this story because of the mistakes made in some concerned works.

Key words:Pierre Hoang, Etienne Zi, Prix Stanislas Julien

Translation, Annotation and Introduction of theAnnual Letter of 1618 of the Society of Jesus in China

Dong Shaoxin and Liu Geng

Abstract:TheAnnual Letters of the Society of Jesusin Chinain the 17th century are very important documentsfor the research of the history of Christianity in China, and the history of the Ming and Qing Dynasties as well.However, none of them have been translated into Chinese before this.As part of the Chinese version of theseAnnual Letters, this article presents the Chinese version of theAnnual Letter of 1618 of the Society of Jesus in Chinafor its representiveness of all the letters, and attempts to provide annotations for this historical document.

Key words:annual letters, the Society of Jesus, history of Chinese Christianity, dynastic transition of Ming-Qing