Великобританската представа за китайския език между 17 и 19 в.
The British Concept of Chinese Language Between the 17th and the 19th Centuries
Author(s): Pavel PetkovSubject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Philology
Published by: Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий”
Keywords: Chinese Language; Travel Writing; Imagology; Enlightenment
Summary/Abstract: During the period under discussion the idea of the Chinese language underwent a substantial change. While in the seventeenth century – when Britain was in the grip of a powerful sinophile sentiment – many intellectuals were inclined to view the language and the writing system of the Middle Kingdom favorably, seeing in the Chinese characters a remnant of the first human language, during the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries the popular views changed and the Chinese language was examined with a more critical eye. The paper discusses these changes, focusing on a few authors whose views can be considered fairly representative of the prevalent societal trends at the time. Among the authors I discuss are John Bell, Samuel Johnson, Francis Bacon and John Webb.
- Issue Year: 5/2020
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 199-212
- Page Count: 14
- Language: Bulgarian