scholarly journals Confucian Learning and Literacy in Japan’s Schools of the Edo Period

Asian Studies ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-166
Author(s):  
Kristina HMELJAK SANGAWA
Keyword(s):  
Political Stability ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Educational Facilities ◽  
Edo Period ◽  
New Literacy ◽  
Functional Literacy ◽  
Chinese Studies ◽  
Classical Chinese ◽  
Chinese Learning ◽  
The Prestige

With the political stability, economic growth and cultural revitalisation of Japan after its unification by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the educational infrastructure also grew to meet new literacy demands. Governmental schools endowed by the shogunate (Shōheikō) and by the domains (hankō), which catered to the upper military class of the samurai, focused on classical Chinese studies, particularly the Neo-Confucian canon taught in kanbun, a style of classical Chinese. Given the prestige of Neo-Confucian Chinese learning and of the kanbun writing style, these were taught also in temple schools (terakoya) and private academies (juku) that were open to the lower classes, thus contributing to the spread of this particular type of literacy. However, Chinese learning in these schools often involved memorising rather than reading, both because of educational traditions and socio-ideological factors, and also because of the sheer difficulty of reading kanbun, a de facto foreign language. The present article investigates the contrasting implications of Neo-Confucian learning and of the kanbun writing style for the development of education and literacy in Japanese society: while the prestige of Chinese learning contributed to the demand for and development of educational facilities, its complexity also acted as an obstacle to the development of widespread functional literacy.

scholarly journals “New Literacy” and “New Wave” of Language Policy in Japan

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 130-140
Author(s):  
Evgenia L. Frolova
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
New Wave ◽  
New Literacy ◽  
Functional Literacy ◽  
Information Changing ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Different Levels

The concept of literacy has undergone changes from the simple possession of writing and reading skills to functional literacy, which includes many aspects (informational, financial, etc.). All together, this can be called the concept of “new literacy”, or the “concept of competencies”. In Japan, modern Japanese writing presents a significant problem, combining several writing scripts. The basis of functional literacy is the ability to use approximately 2,000 characters. However, the discriminated sections of the population, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, foreigners and “new migrants” do not reach the required level of literacy. Under these conditions, a “new literacy” strategy has emerged that offers to recognize that there are different levels of literacy. The concept of “Plain Japanese Language” was created as a means of access to information and socialization for all segments of the population of Japan. People with disabilities need to be provided opportunities for basic access to information and participation in public life. The theory of alternative literacy also sets a certain bar, only lowers it much lower, covering practically all segments of the Japanese population. Japanese writing acts as a cultural tool for the daily life of the Japanese. Mastering all aspects of functional literacy is a difficult and inevitable burden for young people in Japan. From this perspective, literacy in Japan is a cultural resource that can lead to social exclusion and discrimination. Considering literacy in the context of publicly available information, changing the existing paradigm of “violence by literacy,” is a new and welcome approach. There is an increase in academic interest in socially-driven diverse language communities in Japan and beyond. This led to changes in the language policy of Japan, called the “New Wave”.

scholarly journals Speaking in Tongues? Daimyo, Zen Monks, and Spoken Chinese in Japan, 1661–1711

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Clements
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Chinese Tradition ◽  
Speaking In Tongues ◽  
Chinese Studies ◽  
Chinese Learning ◽  
Ogyu Sorai ◽  
Vernacular Chinese

The scholarly narrative of spoken Chinese studies in Tokugawa Japan is dominated by Ogyū Sorai, who founded a translation society in 1711 and urged Japanese intellectuals to learn contemporary spoken Chinese in order to draw closer to the language of the Chinese classics. This article explores the decades prior to this, when Sorai served the powerful daimyo Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu. By investigating Yoshiyasu's contact with Chinese monks and the surprising but previously untested claim that he could understand spoken Chinese, I explore the cultivation of spoken Chinese learning and the patronage of Chinese émigrés by members of Japan’s warrior elite in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Prior to the scholarly interest in vernacular Chinese and the popularity of Ming and Qing literature in Japan from the Kyōhō period (1716–35) onwards, Chinese orality served as a tangible link to the Chinese tradition for Yoshiyasu and other powerful daimyo, functioning as a sign of their fitness for power in East Asia.

scholarly journals Ezra Pound’s The River Merchant’s Wife: Representations of a Decontextualized “Chineseness”

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Tang
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Married Life ◽  
Chinese Studies ◽  
Classical Chinese ◽  
Cultural Details

This article provides a detailed comparison of various interpretations of The River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter presented by Western scholars and the widely-recognized interpretation in the field of classical Chinese studies concerning its Chinese source text Changgan Xing. Analyzing the discrepancies between the two texts from a cross-cultural perspective, this article argues that The River Merchant’s Wife has produced a decontextualized “Chineseness” by using Japanized romanizations, manipulating cultural details, and changing the original messages. Consequently, Ezra Pound’s rewriting and manipulation have induced misunderstandings regarding the Chinese source text and have reinforced stereotypical preconceptions of gender image and married life in ancient China.

scholarly journals ORIGIN AND CULTURAL MEANING OF CLASSICAL CHINESE MUSIC AND DANCE

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Anh Thuc
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Value ◽  
Chinese Art ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Chinese Studies ◽  
Classical Chinese ◽  
National University ◽  
Chinese Dance

Classical Chinese dance and music are an integral part of the course “An Introduction to Chinese Studies 2” for third-year students of the Faculty of Chinese Language and Culture,  University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Therefore, in order to provide an overview and better understanding of Chinese history, people and culture in general as well as Chinese art in particular, this paper synthesizes and analyzes the relationship between classical Chinese music and dance through all Chinese dynasties. Accordingly, the great cultural value of classical Chinese dance and music will be highlighted.  

The Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Literary History ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Manuscript Culture ◽  
Literary Traditions ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Chinese Studies ◽  
Classical Chinese ◽  
Literary Heritage ◽  
Literary Cultures ◽  
Medieval China

This handbook of Classical Chinese literature from 1000 bce through 900 ce aims to provide a solid introduction to the field, inspire scholars in Chinese Studies to explore innovative conceptual frameworks and pedagogical approaches in the studying and teaching of classical Chinese literature, and facilitate a comparative dialogue with scholars of premodern East Asia and other classical and medieval literary traditions around the world. The handbook integrates issue-oriented, thematic, topical, and cross-cultural approaches to the classical Chinese literary heritage with historical perspectives. It introduces both literature and institutions of literary culture, in particular court culture and manuscript culture, which shaped early and medieval Chinese literary production. It problematizes the gap between traditional concepts and modern revisionary definitions of literary categories and fosters critical awareness of how this has shaped the transmission and reception of literature and literary history. It discusses both canonical works and works that fall between the cracks of modern disciplinary divisions of “philosophy,” “religion,” “history,” and “literature.” Adopting a thematic approach, it traces the trajectory of ideas and motifs articulated across different genres, periods, and cultural spheres and lays the groundwork for comparisons with other literary cultures. Finally, it places early and medieval China in its regional context by including chapters on translation, on cultural interactions with the Northwestern regions, and on the literatures produced in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam in Literary Chinese, recapturing the functioning of the East Asian Sinographic Sphere.

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