JHASS
Early Translation and Dissemination of Ancient Chinese Primer Classic Mingxin baojian and Its Influence on Western Sinology
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Abstract
The Chinese primer classic Mingxin baojian compiled by Fan Liben, a scholar in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasty, is a collection of aphorisms and moral sayings from Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist traditions urging people to do good deeds. It is the first Chinese classic to be translated and introduced to the West in the history, with versions available in Spanish, Latin, German, and English. By employing historical document compilation method, this study attempts to conduct an in-depth analysis of the early translation, dissemination and influence of Mingxin baojian in the West from the perspectives of cross-cultural studies. The study found that Mingxin baojian was retranslated into different Western languages for several times, spread widely in Western European culture circle, including Spain, Germany, United Kingdom and United States, which exerted great influence on cross-cultural exchange between China and the West, comparative ethics and philosophy and contribution to rise of Western Sinology.
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How to cite this paper
Early Translation and Dissemination of Ancient Chinese Primer Classic Mingxin baojian and Its Influence on Western Sinology
How to cite this paper: Lihua Qing, Hai Wang. (2025) Early Translation and Dissemination of Ancient Chinese Primer Classic Mingxin baojian and Its Influence on Western Sinology. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(2), 280-285.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.02.012
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