A Study on the Influence of Ancient Chinese Cultural Classics Abroad in the Twentieth Century

This book presents an extensive literary survey of the influence of ancient Chinese cultural classics around the globe, highlighting a mammoth research project involving over forty countries or regions and more than twenty languages. As the book reveals, ancient Chinese culture was introduced to East Asian countries or regions very early on; furthermore, after the late Ming Dynasty, Chinese “knowhow” and ideas increasingly made inroads into the West. In particular, the translation of and research on Chinese classics around the world have enabled Chinese culture to take root and blossom on an unprecedented scale. 

In addition to offering a valuable resource for readers interested in culture, the social sciences, and philosophy, the book blazes new trails for the study of ancient Chinese culture.

Xiping Zhang, Professor of Historiography and Religious Studies, Chief Researcher and Dean of the International Chinese Cultural Studies Collaborative Innovation Center at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU); Honorary Director of the International Institute of Chinese Studies at BFSU; Editor-in-Chief of International Sinology. Professor Zhang also serves as Vice President of the International Confucian Association, and is currently a Board Member of the Chinese Religious Studies Association and the Comparative Studies Association. Professor Zhang has been designated an expert with outstanding contributions to the humanities and social sciences by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

Professor Zhang specializes in the research fields of philosophy, Sino-Western cultural history between 1500-1800, the history of Sinology and the history of Christianity in China. In recent years, he has devoted research to the early history of Sinology in Europe, and to the history of the influence of Chinese culture in Europe. At present, Professor Zhang is engaged in a number of major research projects, such as Chinese Catholic Documents at the Vatican Library sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China, and A Study on the Influence of Ancient Chinese Cultural Classics Abroad in the 20th Century sponsored by the Ministry of Education.

Professor Zhang’s publications include eleven monographs and more than three hundred academic papers in reputed academic journals. 

Bin Yao (Translator), Professor of Translation and Interpreting Studies, Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation, Beijing Foreign Studies University; member of the Interpretation Committee of the Translators Association of China (TAC). Professor Yao is a seasoned practitioner, instructor and researcher of Translation and Interpretation, and has provided T & I services to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the International Labor Organization, the World Bank, various Chinese industries, and a multitude of multi-national companies. Professor Yao holds a PhD in Comparative Literature and Culture from Peking University, and has mentored both postgraduate students majoring in Translation and Interpretation and practitioners in the field. He has published more than twenty papers in reputed academic journals, including Babel, the Chinese Translators’ Journal, the Shanghai Journal of Translators and Chinese Science & Technology Translators Journal.

Ursula Deser Friedman (Translator) is currently pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, with an emphasis in Translation Studies, at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ursula holds an M.A. in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics with specializations in Translation and Conference Interpretation from Beijing Foreign Studies University, where she has taught Mandarin-English Translation since 2017. Ursula’s publications have appeared in Translation Review, International Communications and Modern Chinese Literature and Culture.