71-497: LZH may refer to: Classical Chinese (ISO 639: lzh), a written form of Old Chinese LHA (file format) , a data compression format Liuzhou Bailian Airport (IATA code: LZH), an airport in China Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title LZH . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
142-496: A pro-drop language : its syntax often allows either subjects or objects to be dropped when their reference is understood. Additionally, words are generally not restricted to use as certain parts of speech : many characters may function as either a noun, verb, or adjective. There is no general copula in Classical Chinese akin to how 是 ( shì ) is used in modern Standard Chinese. Characters that can sometimes function as
213-418: A system of honorifics . Many final and interrogative particles are found in Classical Chinese. Beyond differences in grammar and vocabulary, Classical Chinese can be distinguished by its literary qualities: an effort to maintain parallelism and rhythm is typical, even in prose works. Works also make extensive use of literary techniques such as allusion, which contributes to the language's brevity. Prior to
284-701: A bridge of communication between the Arab and Chinese peoples. Their interest in the history of China also increased greatly. Many books related to the history of Chinese culture and its people were published in the Arabic language. In 2020 after spending about six years as a consul in Guangzhou , Ali bin Ghanem Al-Hajri , a Qatari diplomat who is considered one of the Arabs with a lot of original Arabic academic works in sinology, published
355-429: A copula in specific circumstances include 為 ( wéi ; 'make', 'do') when indicating temporary circumstances, and 曰 ( yuē ; 'say') when used in the sense of 'to be called'. Classical Chinese has more pronouns compared to the modern vernacular. In particular, whereas modern Standard Chinese has one character generally used as a first-person pronoun, Classical Chinese has several—many of which are used as part of
426-593: A rich variety of approaches and disciplines, whether they be mainly empirical or more theoretically inflected." Chinese historical sources indicate that the Chinese had knowledge of the Arabs several centuries before Islam, as the history of relations between the two civilizations dates back to the pre-Islamic era. The policy of the Han Dynasty (206 BC) aimed at opening trade routes with the western regions, which are today called Central Asia, India and Western Asia, extending to
497-487: A single independent word. As a result, the characteristic style of the language is comparatively terse. Starting in the 2nd century CE, use of Literary Chinese spread to the countries surrounding China, including Vietnam , Korea , Japan , and the Ryukyu Islands , where it represented the only known form of writing. Literary Chinese was adopted as the language of civil administration in these countries, creating what
568-526: A small scale at that time. Ain Shams University opened the Chinese language specialization in 1958. However, the course was stopped for prevailing political reasons at the time. In the period between 1958 and 1963, 33 Chinese language students graduated from Egyptian universities. In 1977, Ain Shams University reintroduced the Sinology specialization course. In addition to Egypt, there were activities to teach
639-706: Is a well-known historical figure in the Arabian Peninsula, made significant contributions to Sinology. Al-Masoudi has traveled all over the world since he was a child, visiting faraway places. In the year 915, he visited India, Ceylon, Champa, and the coastal regions of China, and then visited Zabagh and Turkistan in Central Asia. He died in the year 956, and he is the author of the book "Meadows of Gold", which deals with history, geography, and other fields. He had many records about China, and these records were popular among orient scholars. Abu Zayd's book "On China and India"
710-409: Is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilization primarily through Chinese language , history , culture , literature , philosophy , art , music , cinema , and science . Its origin "may be traced to the examination which Chinese scholars made of their own civilization." The academic field of sinology often refers to Western scholarship. Until the 20th century, it
781-406: Is called the "commentarial tradition" through critical annotated translation. This emphasis on translating classical texts inhibited the use of social science methodology or comparing these texts of other traditions. One scholar described this type of sinology as "philological hairsplitting" preoccupied with marginal or curious aspects. Secular scholars gradually came to outnumber missionaries, and in
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#1733104552013852-466: Is clear from the foregoing that there had been friction between China and the Arabs from a long time ago, and that there are cultural and commercial relations existing between the Arab and Chinese civilizations, which required the visiting Arabs to learn the Chinese language and vice versa. However, there are no texts indicating that the Arabs during this period studied the Chinese language or culture beyond what their missionary or trades affairs demanded, and
923-764: Is far more common in Chinese languages than in English: for example, each of the following words had a distinct Old Chinese pronunciation, but are now perfectly homophones with a pronunciation of yì [î] in Standard Chinese: The poem Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den was composed during the 1930s by the linguist Yuen Ren Chao to demonstrate this: it contains only words pronounced shi [ʂɻ̩] with various tones in modern Standard Chinese. The poem underlines how language had become impractical for modern speakers: when spoken aloud, Literary Chinese
994-505: Is known as the Sinosphere . Each additionally developed systems of readings and annotations that enabled non-Chinese speakers to interpret Literary Chinese texts in terms of the local vernacular. While not static throughout its history, its evolution has traditionally been guided by a conservative impulse: many later changes in the varieties of Chinese are not reflected in the literary form. Due to millennia of this evolution, Literary Chinese
1065-550: Is largely incomprehensible. However, the poem is perfectly comprehensible when read, and also uses homophones that were present even in Old Chinese. Romanizations have been devised to provide distinct spellings for Literary Chinese words, together with pronunciation rules for various modern varieties. The earliest was the Romanisation Interdialectique by French missionaries Henri Lamasse [ fr ] of
1136-581: Is not read with a reconstructed Old Chinese pronunciation; instead, it is read with the pronunciations as categorized and listed in a rime dictionary originally based upon the Middle Chinese pronunciation in Luoyang between the 2nd and 4th centuries. Over time, each dynasty updated and modified the official rime dictionary: by the time of the Yuan and Ming dynasties , its phonology reflected that of early Mandarin. As
1207-478: Is only partially intelligible when read or spoken aloud for someone only familiar with modern vernacular forms. Literary Chinese has largely been replaced by written vernacular Chinese among Chinese speakers; speakers of non-Chinese languages have similarly abandoned Literary Chinese in favour of their own local vernaculars. Although varieties of Chinese have diverged in various directions from the Old Chinese words in
1278-528: The Book of Han (111 CE) is the oldest extant bibliography of Classical Chinese, compiled c. 90 CE ; only 6% of its 653 listed works are known to exist in a complete form, with another 6% existing only in fragments. Compared to written vernacular Chinese, Classical Chinese is terse and compact in its style, and uses some different vocabulary. Classical Chinese rarely uses words two or more characters in length. Classical Chinese can be described as
1349-713: The Arabic Sin —which ultimately derive from "Qin", i.e. the Qin dynasty . In the context of area studies , the European and the American usages may differ. In Europe, sinology is usually known as "Chinese studies", whereas in the United States, sinology is a subfield of Chinese studies. A China watcher is a person who monitors current events and power struggles in China . In Japan, sinology
1420-614: The Dark Ages . Among the European literati interested in China was Voltaire , who wrote the play L'orphelin de la Chine inspired by The Orphan of Zhao , Leibniz who penned his famous Novissima Sinica (News from China) and Giambattista Vico . Because Chinese texts did not have any major connections to most important European topics (such as the Bible), they were scarcely studied by European universities until around 1860. An exception to this
1491-550: The Five Classics , is distinct from that found in later works. The term "pre-Classical Chinese" is used to distinguish this earlier form from Classical Chinese proper, as it did not inspire later imitation to a comparable degree despite the works' equal importance in the canon. After the Han dynasty, the divergence of spoken language from the literary form became increasingly apparent. The term "Literary Chinese" has been coined to refer to
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#17331045520131562-544: The Paris Foreign Missions Society and Ernest Jasmin, based on Middle Chinese, followed by linguist Wang Li 's Wényán luómǎzì based on Old Chinese in 1940, and then by Chao's General Chinese romanization in 1975. However, none of these systems have seen extensive use. Sinologists Sinology , also referred to as China studies , is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It
1633-602: The University of Chicago . Tsou emphasized the importance of academic objectivity in general and in sinology in particular, stressing that intellectual and academic exchange between China and the West was the only way for both parties to come to a greater understanding of one another. In 1964 an exchange in the pages of the Journal of Asian Studies debated the continued relevance of sinology. The anthropologist G. William Skinner called for
1704-420: The classics of Chinese literature were written, from c. the 5th century BCE . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary Chinese , which was used for almost all formal writing in China until the early 20th century. Each written character corresponds to a single spoken syllable, and almost always to
1775-531: The imperial examination system required the candidate to compose poetry in the shi genre, pronunciation in non-Mandarin speaking parts of China such as Zhejiang , Guangdong and Fujian is either based on everyday speech, such as in Standard Cantonese , or is based on a special set of pronunciations borrowed from Classical Chinese, such as in Southern Min . In practice, all varieties of Chinese combine
1846-564: The "Chinese Institute" in Naples—the first school of sinology on the European continent, and sanctioned by Pope Clement XII . The institute was first nucleus of what would become today's Università degli studi di Napoli L'Orientale . Ripa had worked as a painter and copper-engraver in the court of the Kangxi Emperor between 1711 and 1723, and returned to Naples with four young Chinese Christians, who all taught their native language and formed
1917-552: The 20th century sinology slowly gained a substantial presence in Western universities. The Paris-based type of sinology dominated learning about China until the Second World War even outside France. Paul Pelliot , Henri Maspero , and Marcel Granet both published basic studies and trained students. Pelliot's knowledge of the relevant languages, especially those of Central Asia, and control of bibliography in those languages, gave him
1988-514: The 20th century, projects of cooperation between China and the Arab countries led to the development of Sinology in the Arab countries nominally after expanding the scope of Chinese-Arab cooperation in the field of education, with some difference according to the level of cooperation. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt in 1956, Egypt began to open the Chinese language specialization course in Egyptian universities, but on
2059-747: The Arab world, although it was not published until recently. He also published "China in the Eyes of Travelers", a book that delved deep into the history of ancient China through the discoveries made by travellers and explorers. Al-hajri further wrote the book "Arts in the Ming Dynasty", in which he elaborated on the political and economic development of the Ming Dynasty and the historical development of Chinese culture. Four of his books are translated into Chinese Many books have been translated from Chinese into Arabic as part of these efforts. Where more than 700 books about
2130-610: The Arabian Peninsula and Africa. Historical studies confirmed that Muslim Arabs entered China during the early days of Islam to spread the religion, when four of Muhammad's companions namely Saad bin Abi Waqqas, Jaafar bin Abi Talib, and Jahsh bin Riab preached in China in the year 616/17. During the reign of Emperor Yongle, the first Chinese fleet arrived on the shores of the Arabian Peninsula, led by Zheng He , on his fourth voyage in 1412 AD. It
2201-563: The Chinese language in Kuwait as well, but they stopped after a short period. The number of Arabs that learn the Chinese Language has increased. The Chinese Language Department at Ain Shams University is a major center for teaching the Chinese language in Egypt and one of the notable centers for teaching the Chinese language in the Arab world and Africa in terms of student size, teaching quality, and
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2272-581: The Chinese people. An early Spanish Dominican mission in Manila operated a printing press; between 1593 and 1607, they produced four works on Catholic doctrine for the Chinese immigrant community, three in Literary Chinese and one in a mixture of Literary Chinese and vernacular Hokkien . Dominican accomplishments among the Chinese diaspora pale in comparison to the success of the Jesuits in mainland China, led by
2343-511: The Chinese using their own terms. During the Age of Enlightenment , sinologists started to introduce Chinese philosophy, ethics, legal system, and aesthetics into the West. Though often unscientific and incomplete, their works inspired the development of chinoiserie and a series of debates comparing Chinese and Western cultures. At that time, sinologists often described China as an enlightened kingdom, comparing it to Europe, which had just emerged from
2414-514: The Classical lexicon, many cognates can still be found. There is no universal agreement on the definition of "Classical Chinese". At its core, the term refers to the language used by the classics of Chinese literature roughly from the 5th century BCE to the end of the Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE). The form of Chinese used in works written before the 4th century BCE, like
2485-501: The Japanese readings of Literary Chinese, is part of the high school curriculum in Japan. Japan is the only country that maintains the tradition of creating Literary Chinese poetry based on Tang-era tone patterns . Chinese characters are not phonetic and rarely reflect later sound changes in words. Efforts to reconstruct Old Chinese pronunciation began relatively recently. Literary Chinese
2556-523: The People's Republic of China in 1949, China studies developed along diverging lines. The rise of Area studies , the role of China watchers , and the growth of university graduate programs has changed the role of sinology. Funding for Chinese and Taiwanese studies comes from a variety of sources; one prominent source is the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation . The Area studies approach, especially in
2627-401: The United States, challenged the dominance of classical sinology. Scholars such as John King Fairbank promoted the "study of China within a discipline," an approach which downplayed the role of philological sinology and focused on issues in history and the social sciences. One of the earliest American scholars of Cold War China and Sino-American relations was Chinese-American Tang Tsou of
2698-522: The assumption that there is "some implicit hostility between 'Sinology' and the disciplines of history and social sciences." Sinology, he continued, is used in too a wide range of meanings to be so confined: During the Cold War , China Watchers centered in Hong Kong , especially American government officials or journalists. Mutual distrust between the United States and China and the prohibition of travel between
2769-537: The book "Zheng He, Chinese Emperor of the Seas". The book covers the history and adventures of a Chinese commander by the name Zheng He whose fleet went round the known world in seven voyages between the years 1415 and 1432. He also wrote before that the novel "The Fleet of the Sun" inspired by the story of the Chinese commander. It was considered the first Arabic novel with a Chinese as the central character, thus it achieved some fame in
2840-779: The chair of Chinese at the Collège de France for over 40 years, starting his studies with Rémusat and succeeding him in 1833. He was notable for his translations not only of classical texts but also works of vernacular literature, and for his knowledge of Manchu. Édouard Chavannes succeeded to the position after the death of Marquis d'Hervey-Saint-Denys in 1893. Chavannes pursued broad interests in history as well as language. The image of China as an essentially Confucian society conveyed by Jesuit scholars dominated Western thought in these times. While some in Europe learned to speak Chinese, most studied written classical Chinese. These scholars were in what
2911-445: The countries meant they did not have access to press briefings or interviews. They therefore adopted techniques from Kremlinology , such as the close parsing of official announcements for hidden meanings, movements of officials reported in newspapers, and analysis of photographs of public appearances. But in the years since the opening of China, China watchers can live in China and take advantage of normal sources of information. Towards
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2982-405: The end of the century, many of those studying China professionally called for an end to the split between sinology and the disciplines. The Australian scholar Geremie Barmé , for instance, suggests a "New Sinology", one which "emphasizes strong scholastic underpinnings in both the classical and modern Chinese language and studies, at the same time as encouraging an ecumenical attitude in relation to
3053-752: The extremely laconic style. Presently, pure Literary Chinese is occasionally used in formal or ceremonial contexts. For example, the National Anthem of the Republic of China is in Literary Chinese. Buddhist texts in Literary Chinese are still preserved from the time they were composed or translated from Sanskrit. In practice there is a socially accepted continuum between vernacular and Literary Chinese. For example, most official notices and formal letters use stock literary expressions within vernacular prose. Personal use of Classical phrases depends on factors such as
3124-509: The family and ritual. The Russian school of sinology was focused mainly on learning classical Chinese texts. For example, the contribution of the Russian sinologist Julian Shchutsky was especially valuable. The best full translation of the I Ching ( Book of Changes ) was made by him in 1937. Later his translation was translated in English and other European languages. After the proclamation of
3195-495: The first important secular sinologists in these two countries were James Legge and Hans Georg Conon von der Gabelentz . In 1878, a professorship of Far Eastern languages, the first of its kind in the German-speaking world, was created at the University of Leipzig with von der Gabelentz taking the position. Scholars like Legge often relied on the work of ethnic Chinese scholars such as Wang Tao . Stanislas Julien served as
3266-571: The historical literary use of Latin in Europe, that of Arabic in Persia , or that of Sanskrit in South and Southeast Asia. However, unlike these examples, written Chinese uses a logography of Chinese characters that are not directly tied to their pronunciation. This lack of a fixed correspondence between writing and reading created a situation where later readings of Classical Chinese texts were able to diverge much further from their originals than occurred in
3337-534: The historical records of all non- Qin states to be burned, along with any literature associated with the Hundred Schools of Thought . The imperial library was destroyed upon the dynasty's collapse in 206 BCE, resulting in a potentially greater loss. Even works from the Classical period that have survived are not known to exist in their original forms, and are attested only in manuscripts copied centuries after their original composition. The " Yiwenzhi " section of
3408-622: The institute to teach Chinese to missionaries en route to China. In 1814, a chair of Chinese and Manchu was founded at Collège de France . Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat , who taught himself Chinese , filled the position, becoming the first professor of Chinese in Europe. By then the first Russian sinologist, Nikita Bichurin , had been living in Beijing for ten years. Abel-Rémusat's counterparts in England and Germany were Samuel Kidd (1797–1843) and Wilhelm Schott (1807–1889) respectively, though
3479-476: The kanji represents a native word such as the reading of 行 in 行く ( iku ) or the reading of both characters in " Osaka " ( 大阪 ), as well as a system that aids Japanese speakers with a Classical word order. As pronunciation in modern varieties is different from Old Chinese as well as other historical forms such as Middle Chinese , characters that once rhymed may not any longer, or vice versa. Poetry and other rhyme-based writing thus becomes less coherent than
3550-412: The later forms of written Chinese in conscious imitation of the classics, with sinologists generally emphasizing distinctions such as the gradual addition of new vocabulary and the erosion of certain points of Classical grammar as their functions were forgotten. Literary Chinese was used in almost all formal and personal writing in China from the end of the Han dynasty until the early 20th century, when it
3621-565: The laws of Taiwan are still written in a subset of Literary Chinese. As a result, it is necessary for modern Taiwanese lawyers to learn at least a subset of the literary language. Many works of literature in Classical and Literary Chinese have been highly influential in Chinese culture, such as the canon of Tang poetry . However, even with knowledge of its grammar and vocabulary, works in Literary Chinese can be difficult for native vernacular speakers to understand, due to its frequent allusions and references to other historical literature, as well as
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#17331045520133692-598: The level of teachers and staff. The Bourguiba Institute for Modern Languages was also opened in Tunisia, and it specializes in the Chinese language in 1977. Cairo University also established the Chinese Language Department in September 2004 becoming a major center for Sinology is North Africa . Arab scholars sought to delve deeper into Sinology for academic, political, cultural and diplomatic purposes in order to build
3763-408: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=LZH&oldid=1217303019 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which
3834-509: The literary revolution in China that began with the 1919 May Fourth Movement , prominent examples of vernacular Chinese literature include the 18th-century novel Dream of the Red Chamber . Most government documents in the Republic of China were written in Literary Chinese until reforms spearheaded by President Yen Chia-kan in the 1970s to shift to written vernacular Chinese. However, most of
3905-546: The original reading must have been. However, some modern Chinese varieties have certain phonological characteristics that are closer to the older pronunciations than others, as shown by the preservation of certain rhyme structures. Another particular characteristic of Literary Chinese is its present homophony . Reading Classical texts with character pronunciations from modern languages results in many homophonous characters that originally had distinct Old Chinese pronunciations, but have since merged to varying degrees. This phenomenon
3976-443: The other hand, replied that the disciplines were too often treated as ends in themselves. Sinology had its backers. Frederick W. Mote , a specialist in traditional China, replying to Skinner, spoke up for sinology, which he saw as a field or discipline in itself. Another specialist in traditional China, Denis Twitchett , in reply to the back and forth of this debate, issued what he called "A Lone Cheer for Sinology". He did not accept
4047-529: The other literary traditions, adding a unique dimension to the study of Literary Chinese. Literary Chinese was adopted in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. The Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature states that this adoption came mainly from diplomatic and cultural ties with China, while conquest, colonization, and migration played smaller roles. Unlike Latin and Sanskrit, historical Chinese language theory consisted almost exclusively of lexicography , as opposed to
4118-555: The pilgrimage to Mecca, in addition to the flourishing of land and sea trade. All this led to the advancement of their studies in geography and thus, new knowledge about China found its way to the Arab world. Up to the twelfth century, the Arabs possessed exclusive knowledge about the East, and they were contributing to the transmission of knowledge to the West, which contributed to the advancement of Islamic civilization and its impact on world culture. Arabs such as Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Masoudi, who
4189-410: The power to write on a range of topics and to criticize in damning detail the mistakes of other scholars. Maspero expanded the scope of sinology from Confucianism to include Daoism, Buddhism, and popular religion, as well as art, mythology, and the history of science. The contribution of Granet was to apply the concepts of Emile Durkheim , a pioneer sociologist, to the society of ancient China, especially
4260-422: The reason for this is due to the fact that the purpose of the visits was often to trade or to spread Islam. At the beginning of the seventh century until the eighth century, the power of the Arabs increased due to the expansion of Islam and its spread throughout the world, and their control expanded to the east and west. Their power was strengthened by their vast lands, their advanced network of postal stations, and
4331-479: The renowned pioneer Matteo Ricci . Ricci arrived in Guangzhou in 1583, and would spend the rest of his life in China. Unlike most of his predecessors and contemporaries, Ricci did not view the Chinese firstly as pagans or idolators, but as "like-minded literati approachable on the level of learning". Like Chinese literati, he studied the Confucian classics in order to present Catholic doctrine and European learning to
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#17331045520134402-412: The school curriculum is taught primarily by presenting a literary work and including a vernacular gloss that explains the meaning of phrases. The examinations usually require the student to read a paragraph in Literary Chinese and then explain its meaning in the vernacular. Contemporary use of Literary Chinese in Japan is mainly in the field of education and the study of literature. Learning kanbun ,
4473-484: The social sciences to make more use of China, but wrote "In recent years the cry has gone up: Sinology is dead; long live Chinese studies!" and concluded that "Sinology, a discipline unto itself, is being replaced by Chinese studies, a multidisciplinary endeavour with specific research objectives." Joseph Levenson , a historian, went further. He doubted that sinology was a tool that social scientists would still find useful, while another historian, Benjamin I. Schwartz , on
4544-510: The study of grammar and syntax. Such approaches largely arrived with Europeans beginning in the 17th century. Christian missionaries later coined the term 文理 ( wénlǐ ; 'principles of literature', 'bookish language') to describe Classical Chinese; this term never became widely used among domestic speakers. According to the traditional " burning of books and burying of scholars " account, in 213 BCE Qin Shi Huang ordered
4615-445: The subject matter and the level of education of the writer. Excepting professional scholars and enthusiasts, most modern writers cannot easily write in Literary Chinese. Even so, most Chinese people with at least a middle school education are able to read basic Literary Chinese, because this ability is part of the Chinese middle school and high school curricula, and is a component of the college entrance examination. Literary Chinese in
4686-676: The two extremes of pronunciation: that according to a prescribed system, versus that based on everyday speech. Mandarin and Cantonese, for example, also have words that are pronounced one way in colloquial usage and another way when used in Literary Chinese or in specialized terms coming from Literary Chinese, though the system is not as extensive as that of Min or Wu . Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese readers of Literary Chinese each use distinct systems of pronunciation specific to their own languages. Japanese speakers have readings of Chinese origin called on'yomi for many words, such as for "ginko" ( 銀行 ) or "Tokyo" ( 東京 ), but use kun'yomi when
4757-454: Was France, where Chinese studies were popularized owing to efforts from Louis XIV . In 1711, he appointed a young Chinese man named Arcadio Huang to catalog the royal collection of Chinese texts. Huang was assisted by Étienne Fourmont , who published a grammar of Chinese in 1742. In 1732, Matteo Ripa , a missionary of the Neapolitan "Sacred Congregation" ( De propaganda fide ) founded
4828-485: Was a well-known and highly regarded Arabic historical material. The book had two separate parts, the first part was "History of Indian and Chinese Affairs" by an unknown author, and the second part was "A Collection of Rumors of India and China" by Abu Zayd. The first part was a selection from Solomon's "Chinese experiences" and other anonymous sources, written and recorded in 851, together with their experiences in India. During
4899-553: Was historically seen as equivalent to philology concerning the Chinese classics and other literature written in the Chinese language . Since then, the scope of sinology has expanded to include Chinese history and palaeography , among other subjects. The terms sinology and sinologist were coined around 1838, derived from Late Latin Sinae , in turn from the Greek Sinae , from
4970-665: Was known as kangaku . It was contrasted with the study of Japan ( kokugaku ) as well as with the study of the West (first rangaku , then more broadly yōgaku ). This historical field is distinguished from modern sinology. In modern China, the studies of China-related subjects is known as "national studies" ( 国学 ; 國學 ; guóxué ), and foreign sinology is translated as "Han studies" ( 汉学 ; 漢學 ; Hànxué ). The earliest Westerners known to have studied Chinese in significant numbers were 16th-century Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian missionaries. All were either Jesuits or Dominicans seeking to spread Catholic Christianity to
5041-598: Was largely replaced by written vernacular Chinese . A distinct, narrower definition of the Classical period begins with the life of Confucius (551–479 BCE) and ends with the founding of the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE. The adoption of Chinese literary culture in the Sinosphere amid the existence of various regional vernaculars is an example of diglossia . The coexistence of Literary Chinese and native languages throughout China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam can be compared to
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