Abstract This study explores the reception of French Symbolism in China and the Qiao-Yi 僑易 phenomenon from 1919 to 1937. Centering on Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Mallarmé, the study examines how their works underwent “translation” (qiao 僑) and “transformation” (yi 易) in China. By analyzing Republican-era journal publications and comparing findings with the practices of Chinese poets such as Dai Wangshu 戴望舒 (1905–1950), Wen Yiduo 聞一多 (1899–1946), and Bian Zhilin 卞之琳 (1910–2000), the study reveals that within the framework of Symbolism, Baudelaire and Verlaine emerged as a group more readily accepted, retaining relatively intact original characteristics, while Rimbaud and Mallarmé formed another group whose essence was significantly stripped, with fewer echoes in Chinese poetry. From the perspective of the dissemination of French Symbolism, its localization was not merely a unidirectional process of reception but a Qiao-Yi phenomenon—an interplay whereby heterogeneous cultures modified or compromised themselves to align with China's cultural transformations at the time. From the angle of Chinese poetry's development, the Qiao-Yi dynamic of French Symbolism reflects how Chinese modern poetry, while superficially rejecting tradition, deeply internalized traditional aesthetics to refashion foreign elements. This underscores the suppressed yet resilient literary self-awareness of Chinese aesthetic traditions when confronting Western modernity.
As inspector-general of the Imperial Maritime Customs, Robert Hart (1835-1911) was argu ably the most powerful foreigner in late Qing China. This article discusses a rare Chinese work that he authored entitled A Bystander's Three Views (Pangguan san lun (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)). It contained his three memoranda on China's "self-strengthening" written at different times over a period of several decades. His first memorandum, "A Bystander's View," was submitted to the Zongli Yamen ("Foreign Office") in 1865 and later included in the Qing collection of documents on foreign contact, A CompleteAccount of the Management of Barbarian Affairs (Chouban yiwu shimo(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)). Not as well-known is that he eventually composed and presumably submitted two more "bystander's views," in 1884 and 1898, respectively, and that shortly after his third submission, he had all three jointly published in book form. This article aims briefly to introduce this work as a testimony to Hart's persistent hope, as a self-styled "bystander," for China's transformation by adopting Western practices.
Taming ((sic)(sic), st & umacr;pa inscriptions) in Tang China became a salient source for confirming the Buddhist identity of clerics and verifying laypeople's connection with Buddhism. During the Tang dynasty, the establishment of Buddhist lineages underwent significant development. St & umacr;pa inscriptions provide the possibility of discerning the formulation of Buddhist lineages prior to the compilation of the lamp transmission record and Buddhist biographies. Early st & umacr;pa inscriptions contain fragmented references to Buddhist lineages, including elements like Buddhist titles, monastery names, and posthumous honors. Starting from the mid-eighth century, st & umacr;pa inscriptions began to provide more detailed accounts of master-disciple successions and clearly defined patriarchal lineages. With its meticulous investigation into the widespread popularity of st & umacr;pa inscriptions in Tang China, this article aims to examine st & umacr;pa inscriptions as a unique literary form by understanding them within their larger historical, religious, and social milieu.
This article examines the enduring legacy of Guan Zhong's actions in early seventeenth-century Korea, particularly within a deeply fractured political landscape shaped by a series of crises from King Kwanghaegun's forced deposition in 1623 to King Injo's surrender to the Manchus in 1637. In the Analects, Confucius offered both praise and criticism of Guan Zhong(sic)(', while in the Mencius, Mencius dismissed him as unworthy of emulation. These early assessments continued to resonate among later scholars and officials, who turned to historical precedent to inform their own moral and political judgments. In Choson Korea, such interpretations shaped debates on loyalty, moral discretion, and political responsibility, as reflected in the contrasting invocations of Guan Zhong by Liu Hai (sic)j (Aita Ufa), Kim Sanghon (sic)(sic)(sic), and Ch'oe Myonggil(sic)(sic)(sic).By analyzing their divergent readings of Guan Zhong, this study shows how his legacy was mobilized to renegotiate moral frameworks governing the Choson state, the king, and his officials, revealing a dynamic tension between principled conviction and moral discretion in times of national crisis in early seventeenth-century Korea.
Using primary sources from the Zhejiang Provincial Archives and records of local his tory, this article attempts to reconstruct the transition of Ningpo Customs from the Imperial to the Republican era during the Xinhai Revolution. In doing so, a pragmatic approach is adopted to uncover the reasons for the continuity and integrity of Ningpo Customs through the change in the regime. The largely smooth transition can be attributed, on the one hand, to the expertise, flexibility, and maneuvering of P. J. Grevedon, the Commissioner of Ningpo Customs at the time, and on the other, to the new government's mixed nature, connections with local merchants, and willingness to appease foreign powers. The transformation of Ningpo Customs during the Xinhai Revolution may, from a local perspective, broadly reflect the colorchanging nature of the chameleon that is the Chinese Maritime Customs Service.
This study explores the reception of French Symbolism in China and the Qiao-Yi IJ phenomenon from 1919 to 1937. Centering on Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Mallarm & eacute;, the study examines how their works underwent "translation" (qiao I) and "transformation" (yi J) in China. By analyzing Republican-era journal publications and comparing findings with the practices of Chinese poets such as Dai Wangshu (sic)(sic)(sic)(1905-1950), Wen Yiduo (sic)(sic)(sic)(1899-1946), and Bian Zhilin (sic)(sic)(sic)(1910-2000), the study reveals that within the framework of Symbolism, Baudelaire and Verlaine emerged as a group more readily accepted, retaining relatively intact original char acteristics, while Rimbaud and Mallarm & eacute; formed another group whose essence was signifi cantly stripped, with fewer echoes in Chinese poetry. From the perspective of the dissemination of French Symbolism, its localization was not merely a unidirectional process of reception but a Qiao-Yi phenomenon-an interplay whereby heterogeneous cultures modified or compromised themselves to align with China's cultural transformations at the time. From the angle of Chinese poetry's development, the Qiao-Yi dynamic of French Symbolism reflects how Chinese modern poetry, while super ficially rejecting tradition, deeply internalized traditional aesthetics to refashion foreign elements. This underscores the suppressed yet resilient literary self-awareness of Chinese aesthetic traditions when confronting Western modernity.
The border-crossings between historical China and Korea not only involved the social, political, and economic interactions between the two countries, but also shaped legal practices in the Korean Peninsula. This article reexamines the historical signifi cance of the Chinsan Incident of 1791 by looking into the legal reasoning of Choson ruling elites and the role of King Chongjo (r. 1776-1800) in the final adjudication. Given the social and cultural milieu that cultivated rever-ence to ancestors, the elite's deep understanding and preservation of Ming laws and legal practice, and the potential factional purge in the name of anti-Catholicism, I argue that the king had to strictly stick to written laws, invoke another Korean-invented legal statute in the final judgment, and even deliberately manipulate the defi nition of "perverse teaching" to settle the case. In such an environment fraught with factional strife, the dynamics then shaped different landscapes of handling Catholic-related legal cases in Choson Korea and in Qing China, forging a hybrid of Ming legal practices and Korean characteristics.
Record of the History of Korean Aristocrat Lady Yi Adrift (Ghi Triều Tiên quý tộc Lý nữ sĩ lưu lạc lịch sử 記朝鮮貴族李女士淪落歷史) is a Sinitic-language work of fiction authored pseudonymously by the “Lady with a Gallant Spirit” (俠魂女士) and serialized in Southern Wind Magazine (Nam Phong tạp chí 南風雜誌) from 1922 to 1923. The story features a classically erudite Korean noblewoman who decides to flee the Japanese colonization of her country and campaign for Korean independence while journeying around East Asia and the Pacific at large. During her travels, she befriends several Chinese women, as well as the granddaughter of the Filipino nationalist and writer José Rizal (1861–96), with whom she commiserates by exchanging Sinitic poetry. This contribution begins with an introduction to the historical setting and literary milieu in which Southern Wind Magazine and this specific story emerged, followed by an annotated translation of the story that explains the wide range of classical allusions and contemporary references present in the text.
This article discusses how proper nouns in literary Sinitic texts are identified and read in Vietnamese commentaries of the Analects. Using Luan ngu uoc gidi (sic), a literary Sinitic/N & ocirc;m bilingual text of the Analects, as a source, it is shown that three types of name marks are used in the literary Sinitic portion of the text to mark proper nouns. Among these, name marks added to personal names show a difference in treatment that corresponds with the use of classifiers in the N & ocirc;m translation of the text. A comparison is made with other such Vietnamese commentaries, showing that there are commonalities in the use of name marks across sources. Following this, a comparison is made with name marks in literary Sinitic texts glossed in Japan, revealing that there are major differences in the practice of adding name marks to texts between the two cultures.
Record of the History of Korean Aristocrat Lady Yi Adrift (Ghi Trieu Ti & ecirc;n qu & yacute; toc L & yacute; ne si luau lac lich su (sic))is a Sinitic-language work of fiction authored pseudon-ymously by the "Lady with a Gallant Spirit" ((sic)) and serialized in Southern Wind Magazine (Nam Phong tap chi (sic)) from 1922 to 1923. The story features a classically erudite Korean noblewoman who decides to flee the Japanese colonization of her country and campaign for Korean independence while journeying around East Asia and the Pacific at large. During her travels, she befriends several Chinese women, as well as the granddaughter of the Filipino nationalist and writer Jos & eacute; Rizal (1861-96), with whom she commiserates by exchanging Sinitic poetry. This contribution begins with an introduction to the historical setting and literary milieu in which Southern Wind Magazine and this specific story emerged, followed by an annotated translation of the story that explains the wide range of classical allusions and contemporary references present in the text.
This study examines the history of Korean research on Vietnamese literary Sinitic texts from the mid-twentieth century to the present. While aiming to deepen understanding of Vietnam, its primary goal has been to enrich Korean studies and contribute to discourses on Tongasia and the East Asian community. Korean literary researchers, particularly those focused on fictional Sinitic narratives, pioneered the comparative studies of chuanqi (sic) fiction from Korea and Vietnam, helping to overcome Korea-centered approaches of Korean Literary Sinitic literature. Early research centered on Sinitic poetry exchanged between Korean and Vietnamese literati, but recent work has expanded to include the travel writings of Vietnamese envoys. These new directions have contributed to deep understanding of the complex interplay of prejudice and friendship in premodern Korean-Vietnamese relations and point toward the possibility of improved bilateral ties in the future. Research has expanded to Vietnamese Sinitic poetry and prose unrelated to Korea, with growing attention to figures beyond Nguyen Tr & atilde;i (sic) (1380-1442), Phan Boi Ch & acirc;u (sic) (1866-1940), and Ho Chi Minh(sic) (1890-1969). The most promising development explores the relationship between Sinitic texts and Chu N & ocirc;m, shedding light on how Literary Sinitic interacted with local languages across East Asia. Though still developing in Korea, this field holds great potential beyond political influences.
This study delves into the multifaceted role of literary Sinitic in colonial Vietnam through a close reading of Kieu O & aacute;nh Mau (sic)(1854-1912)'s controversial 1903 treatise, Supplementary Notes on Sexual Intercourse Between Men and Women (Nam nu giao hop phu luan (sic)). Amid late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries linguistic pluralism (literary Sinitic, N & ocirc;m, French, Quoc Ngu), Vietnamese intellectuals strategically leveraged various scripts to navigate colonial rule and preserve cultural heritage. Nam ni giao hop phu luan, with its audacious exploration of sexuality, offers a unique lens through which to examine the social functions of literary Sinitic. Combining textual and content analysis with theories of language change, cultural memory, and identity formation, this study explores how Kieu employed literary Sinitic. Beyond serving as a language of the elite, literary Sinitic enabled Kieu to articulate personal thoughts, transmit cultural values, engage in cross-border dialogue, and challenge colonial discourses. By illustrating the power of language in cultural resistance and identity formation against colonial domination, this study contributes to colonial studies, linguistics, and cultural studies. This research highlights the dynamic interplay between language, power, and culture in colonial Vietnam and offers valuable insights into the strategies employed by Vietnamese intellectuals to preserve their cultural heritage.
Studies of the use of baihua (vernacular Sinitic) in monarchical Vietnam have mostly been based on data from Chan Buddhist yulu ((sic) dating to the period of the twelfth through fourteenth centuries, with no research conducted using other sources. In order to bridge this gap, this article examines the use of wenyan (literary Sinitic) and/or baihua in the seventeenth-century Vietnamese Confucian text known as Tu thu uoc giai (sic) (A Concise Interpretation of the Four Books). This article argues that the development of the Confucian civil service examination, and the signifcant role of literary Sinitic in administrative documents might have been two primary reasons for the unpopularity of baihua in monarchical Vietnam, while also documenting several instances of baihua grammatical construction in this text.
Confucius's religiosity has been a point of contestation since Confucian classics were intro duced to the West through translation, and different translators have portrayed Confucius differently as far as religiosity is concerned. Ku Hung Ming Ir,(sic)(pinyin: Gu Hongming, 1857-1928) was the first Chinese translator of Confucian classics when he translated the Lunyu into English in 1898, breaking the longtime monopoly of translations of Confucian classics by Western missionaries. This article focuses on Confucius's religiosity in Ku's translated Lunyu and demonstrates that the trans la tion portrays Confucius as religious, rendering unwarranted the argument in the current literature that Ku's translated Lunyu offers a secular Confucius. This article also has important methodologi cal implications in that it challenges the effectiveness of culturespecificitems (CSI) analysis as an approach to culturally loaded texts. It emphasizes that every translational choice, including the use of paratexts, should be taken seriously when attempting to make a generalization for a translated text.
This article examines how Chosŏn's defense strategy countered the Japanese lightning war during the first year of the East Asian War (1592–1598). By exploiting the vulnerability of Japan's stretched supply line, Chosŏn challenged its overextended north-south front line. Contributing to this vulnerability were the volatile southern hinterlands, dominated by the rugged Sobaek Mountains and bordered by the Naktong River, and the instability of the central regions, including the capital, Hansŏng. The court dispatched officials to foster collaboration between local militias and regular armies and to promote interprovincial cooperation among combatants. The military capitalized on environmental advantages to craft a cohesive anti-Japanese strategy aimed at blocking a potential Japanese offensive from the Yellow Sea, applying pressure on the rear of Japanese troops in P'yŏngyang, and supporting the Ming armies’ southward advance. The emergence of two distinct fronts, one in the southern hinterlands and the other in the central region, exposed growing vulnerabilities in the overextended Japanese line, thereby undermining their lightning war. This analysis, by revisiting Chosŏn's war mobilization of human and environmental resources, offers a new perspective on the dynamic interactions among the three states and enables comparative studies between the East Asian War and other sixteenth-century conflicts beyond East Asia.
This study explores the intersection of cultural diplomacy, nationalism, and the arts during the 1931 exhibition of masterpieces from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties in Tokyo. The motivating questions are how cultural diplomacy was employed to mitigate political tensions between China and Japan, and what impact this had on their bilateral relations. The exhibition, held jointly by China and Japan and featuring over sixteen hundred paintings, was a significant cultural event aimed at fostering mutual understanding amid rising political tensions. Funded by the Japanese government under its “Cultural Policy toward China,” it served as a diplomatic tool to enhance Japan's influence in China. The study also includes visual analyses of key paintings exhibited during the joint exhibitions, assessing their stylistic features, provenance, and reception. Finally, the authors examine the modernity of originalist painters such as Shitao, Bada Shanren, and Xinluo Shanren as evaluated by Japanese art circles in the early twentieth century.
