Journal of Studies on Chinese Texts Outside China (Volume 1)

Author: Zhang Bowei (Editor)
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not Available
Features: This annual journal focuses on academic research, featuring scholarly articles and book reviews on language, literature, history, religion, and philosophical studies from Chinese literature outside China. The essays primarily cover Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese studies of Chinese literature, holding significant academic and research value. Over four hundred years ago, Vietnamese envoy Feng Kuek-kwang attended the Emperor Wanli's birthday celebration in the capital and exchanged poems with Korean envoy Li Mok-su, saying: "Though our lands differ in mountains and seas, our roots are one in the classics of sages." A century later, during the Kangxi era, Vietnamese envoy Ruan Gong-ho, on his mission to China, met Korean envoys again in Yanjing and gifted another poem: "Our ceremonies uphold the rites of the Zhou dynasty, our learning follows the classics of Confucius." These widely circulated verses in Vietnam and Korea express and represent the shared identity of scholars in East Asia toward the Chinese culture they all cherish. In fact, before the 20th century, Chinese characters were the common script in East Asian countries. All formal writings, significant occasions, and both governmental and civil diplomacy were inseparable from the medium of Chinese characters. As the ancients said, "When Cangjie invented writing, heaven rained grains of rice and ghosts wept at night." Who could deny that the emergence of Chinese characters was not a monumental event in the history of human civilization? The term "Chinese literature outside China"—various documents written in Chinese characters and preserved in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam—is the very epitome of this. Research on Chinese literature outside China has become a new trend in international academia in the past two decades. From an academic perspective, the significance of this emerging field lies in: it will broaden the horizons of Chinese culture scholars, provide a holistic understanding of historical Chinese classics, and thereby enhance related disciplines such as the study of Chinese language and literature, traditional Chinese thought, East Asian history, and the history of Sino-foreign exchanges. To promote the development of this field in China and facilitate the exchange of research insights among scholars from China and abroad, we have established the Journal of Chinese Literature Outside China. The journal upholds the following principles: it values rigor and pragmatism, rejects; advocates simultaneous progress in learning and thinking, despises the separation of theory and practice; promotes diverse approaches, avoiding rigidity and narrow-mindedness. In short, it emphasizes research grounded in textual studies, embraces various methodologies, and is not bound by specific methods or conclusions. While new materials will undoubtedly be discovered in the field of Chinese literature outside China, the journal places greater emphasis on excavation, striving to elucidate the meaning of Chinese culture from multiple perspectives. "Meeting friends through literature and supporting benevolence through friendship" is its ultimate goal. In Chinese academia, the study of Chinese literature outside China is a vast field yet to be fully cultivated. Its richness and depth call upon all scholars with ambition to dedicate their wisdom and passion to it. The journal aspires to grow alongside such scholars.