Book Roads and Routes

Author(s):  
Peter Francis Kornicki

Chinese texts travelled in extraordinary quantities to distant parts of East Asia, and this chapter charts the movements of books. Most of the movement was centripetal, from China to neighbouring societies, and rather than being foisted on neighbouring societies Chinese books were instead actively sought and taken home by envoys, monks, and other travellers. The flow of books continued right up to the middle of the nineteenth century, when Chinese accounts of the Opium War and of the power of Western countries reached Japan and Korea. Small numbers of books were taken from neighbouring societies to China or to other neighbouring societies, the most important case being the seizure of many books from Korea by the Japanese forces which invaded the Korean peninsula in the last decade of the sixteenth century. For the most part, though, East Asian societies apart from China were receivers rather than transmitters.

Author(s):  
Peter Francis Kornicki

This book is a wide-ranging study of vernacularization in East Asia, and for this purpose East Asia includes not only China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam but also other societies that no longer exist, such as the Tangut and Khitan empires. It takes the reader from the early centuries of the Common Era, when the Chinese script was the only form of writing and Chinese Buddhist, Confucian, and medical texts spread throughout East Asia, through the centuries when vernacular scripts evolved, right up to the end of the nineteenth century when nationalism created new roles for vernacular languages and vernacular scripts. Through an examination of oral approaches to Chinese texts, it shows how highly valued Chinese texts came to be read through the prism of the vernaculars and ultimately to be translated. This long process has some parallels with vernacularization in Europe, but a crucial difference is that literary Chinese was, unlike Latin, not a spoken language. As a consequence, people who spoke different East Asian vernaculars had no means of communicating in speech, but they could communicate silently by means of written conversation in literary Chinese; a further consequence is that within each society Chinese texts assumed vernacular garb: in classes and lectures, Chinese texts were read and declaimed in the vernaculars. What happened in the nineteenth century and why are there still so many different scripts in East Asia? How and why were Chinese texts dethroned and what replaced them? These are some of the questions addressed in this book.


1960 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. W. Wolters

In four Chinese texts almost certainly written before the middle of the sixth century a.d., of which two have been attributed to the Tsin period (265–420), there were references to two ‘Po-Ssῠ pine resins ’ to a ‘Po-Ssῠ resin’ subsequently likened to ‘pine resin’, and to a resin subsequently attributed to the ‘Po-Ssῠ’ and also likened to ‘pine resin’. They were ‘ju t'ou perfume ’, the ‘mo drug ’, ‘An-hsi perfume ’, and lung nao or ‘P'o-lü perfume ’. An-hsi perfume became the name for benjamin gum (Styrax benzoin Dryander) which, with lung nao or tree camphor (Dryobalanops aromatica Gaertn. f ), were in later times famous trade-products of northern Sumatra. To-day ju, the abbreviated form of ju t'ou, is identified with species of Pistacia (a mastic) or with frankincense (Boswellia spp.) and mo with myrrh (Commiphora spp.). These are products of Somaliland, the Middle East, and India. In the sixteenth century, however, and long before then, Chinese herbalists believed that ju and mo also came from South East Asia. The text which first mentioned ju in fact ascribed it to the ‘Southern Ocean Po-Ssῠ’, a definition indicating a South East Asian origin.


2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-235
Author(s):  
STEFAN HALIKOWSKI-SMITH

AbstractOne of the most influential European printed sources on South-East Asia at the turn of the eighteenth century was the Scottish sea-captain Alexander Hamilton's memoirs. The picture he paints of the Portuguese communities that had existed since the period of Portuguese ascendancy in the sixteenth century is overwhelmingly negative. But a close textual and empirical analysis of his text shows that not only was he frequently misinformed in terms of the historical developments relating to that community, but that he merely conforms to a set of standard rhetorical tropes we can associate with the Black Legend, which had grown up in Protestant countries of northern Europe since the 16th century to denigrate Portugal and her achievements. This article urges that this key text consequently be used with far greater circumspection than has hitherto been the case.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 9077-9120 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Nagashima ◽  
T. Ohara ◽  
K. Sudo ◽  
H. Akimoto

Abstract. The Source-Receptor (S-R) relationship for surface O3 in East Asia is estimated for recent years in this study utilizing the tagged tracer method with a global chemical transport model. The estimation shows the importance of intra-continental transport of O3 inside East Asia as well as the transport of O3 from distant source regions. The model well simulated the absolute concentration and seasonal variation of surface O3 in the East Asian region, and demonstrated significant seasonal difference in the origin of surface O3. More than half of surface O3 is attributable to the O3 transported from distant sources outside of East Asia in the cold season (October to March). In the warm season (April to September), most of the surface O3 is attributed to O3 created within East Asia in most areas of East Asia. The contribution of domestically-created O3 accounts for 20% of surface O3 in Japan and the Korean Peninsula, 40% in North China Plain and around 50% in the southern part of China in spring, which increase greatly in summer. The contribution of China and the Korean Peninsula to Japan are estimated at about 10% and 5%, respectively. A large contribution (20%) of China to the Korean Peninsula is also demonstrated. In the northern and southern part of China, large contribution of over 10% from East Siberia and the Indochina Peninsula are identified, respectively. The contribution of intercontinental transport increases with latitude; it is 21% in Northeast China and 13% in Japan and the Korean Peninsula in spring. As for one-hourly mean surface O3, domestically-created O3 is the main contributor in most areas of East Asia, except for the low O3 class (<30 ppbv), and accounts for more than 50% in very high O3 class (>90 ppbv). The mean relative contribution of China to central Japan was about 10% in every class, but that from the Korean Peninsula is important in all expect the low O3 class. Substantial impact of foreign sources on the exceedance of Japan's AAQS is identified in the high O3 class (60–90 ppbv) in spring.


Author(s):  
Enyu Zhang ◽  
Qingmin Zhang

The study of East Asian foreign policies has progressed in sync with mainstream international relations (IR) theories: (1) from perhaps an inadvertent or unconscious coincidence with realism during the Cold War to consciously using different theoretical tools to study the various aspects of East Asian foreign policies; and (2) from the dominance of realism to a diversity of theories in studying East Asian foreign policies. Nonetheless, the old issues from the Cold War have not been resolved; the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Strait remain two flashpoints in the region, with new twists that can derail regional stability and prosperity. New issues also have emerged and made East Asia most volatile. One issue is concerned with restructuring the balance of power in East Asia, particularly the dynamics among the major players, i.e. Japan, China, and the United States. Regionalism is another new topic in the study of East Asian foreign policies. A review of the current state of the field suggests that two complementary issues be given priority in the future. First, the foreign policy interests and strategies of individual small states vis-à-vis great powers in the region, particularly those in Southeast Asia and the Korean peninsula. Second, what could really elevate the study of East Asian foreign policies in the general field of IR and foreign policy analysis is to continue exploring innovative analytical frameworks that can expand the boundaries of existing metatheories and paradigms.


2019 ◽  
pp. 127-152
Author(s):  
Duan Baihui

Despite Chosŏn Korea having been nicknamed the ‘Hermit Kingdom’ by the American William Elliot Griffis in 1882, Englishmen had already been there in the early half of the nineteenth century. This paper considers three journeys by westerners to the Korean peninsula in 1816, 1832 and 1845, utilizing these explorers’ travel diaries to analyze lifestyles in Chosŏn, including clothing, food, and dwelling style. The paper considers westerners’ lively views on the lifestyles of citizens of Chosŏn. Although these narratives from westerners on Chosŏn are tinged with orientalism or racist bias, they still have a great deal of value for historians today who seek to understand everyday life and the social structure of nineteenth-century Chosŏn. This paper sheds light on these useful historical perspectives for the observation of Chosŏn lifestyles in contrast to the high politics of the court, or great power rivalries in East Asia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 523-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Clulow

Abstract Starting in the second half of the sixteenth century, Japan, and especially Kyushu, experienced a surge in maritime exchange that was unprecedented in Japanese history. Alongside the boom in trade, there was a concurrent swell in maritime violence as pirates and privateers militarized East Asian waters. During this period, the port of Hirado on Kyushu emerged as one of the most important and consistently active pirate hubs, becoming a base for Chinese, Dutch, English, and Japanese mariners. This article explores Hirado’s long association with piracy and uses it to reflect on the changing nature of maritime violence in East Asia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
So Jung Kim

AbstractIn this non-empirical study I examine the significance of implementing a critical literacy curriculum into East Asia literacy classrooms, focusing on the Korean and the Vietnamese context. Although critical literacy is not a new issue in most countries, no study has been published about critical literacy in East Asia countries. The fundamental goal of this study is to provide a more democratic vision for literacy teaching and learning to teachers, educators and policymakers, especially in East Asia countries. This study will be beneficial not only for teachers in East Asia, but also for Western countries that still need more knowledge to develop appropriate usage of critical literacy throughout the world.


Author(s):  
Si Jin Oh

Abstract Regarding the historical East Asian order, previous studies appear to have emphasized Chinese and Japanese perspectives, and this academic phenomenon seems to have contributed to solidifying a misunderstanding. This study attempts to present a Korean perspective providing different points of view that challenge previous perspectives on the legal status of Korea in the nineteenth century. One of the critical misunderstandings about the historical relationship between China and Korea is that of vassalage. However, such an analogy is misleading. The East Asian international normative order, which was based on Li, is a particular order that requires a separate treatment. The nature of the tributary order would not necessarily impair sovereignty if it were possible to project and apply the classical international law of the nineteenth century. As the policy of Dongdoseogi represents, however, Korea once seemed to have preferred to maintain the two normative systems simultaneously.


1963 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-209
Author(s):  
D.K. Bassett

The more precise definition of the European impact upon South-East Asian trade and society prior to the nineteenth century has become an important pre-occupation of historians of that region in recent years. The hypothesis of J.C. van Leur that “modern capitalism” took shape only after 1820 impelled him to suggest an equality or near-equality between Asian and European commercial organization in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A corollary of this view was his negative assessment of the Portuguese achievement in South-East Asia, his refusal to accord them technical or organizational superiority except in a limited military sense, his insistence upon the small and unimportant Portuguese share of inter-Asian trade, and his denunciation of the Portuguese as little better than a band of condottieri who lacked an effective central administration.


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