EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Section 8 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 93 Ninth Talented, Full Story About the Capture of Demons (1900 edition). There are woodblock editions of the Dream of the Red Chamber (1813 edition) and the Illustrated Story About the Picture on Fabric by Li Yu (1826 edition). Alekseev also collected works of famous calligraphers like Wang Xizhi (303–361), Yan Zhenqing (709–785) and Su Shi (1037–1101). This library collection has twofold significance. Firstly, it is valuable as an important holding of classical Chinese literature and art outside China. Expert in Chinese literature Boris Riftin (1932–2012) started researching the collection of ancient Chinese novels of the RAS Library of Sinology. Secondly, this Collection helps to clarify scholarly and cultural preferences of V. Alekseev who is regarded now in Russia as the founding father of contemporary paradigm of Russian Sinology. Alekseev Collection serves to the purposes of China Studies and to the studies in history of Russian Sinology. It deserves to be properly described in academic framework and carefully preserved as part of Russian scholarly heritage. Sanpaweerawong Piyamas (Thammasat University) The Study of Sino-Siamese Cultural Exchange through the Analysis of Translation Methods in Chinese —Thai Lexicon“Xianluoguan Yiyu 暹罗馆译语 ” Key words: Sino-Siamese relation, Chinese-Thai translation, Siam, Ming dynasty The long-time tributary-trade relation between Siam (former name of Thailand) and China became vigorous during Ming dynasty. At that time, a school of Siamese language was first established in Ming court, and the dictionary used in this school was called “Xianluoguan Yiyu 暹罗馆译语 ” (The translated language of school of Siam). The dictionary contained 593 words in 18 categories. In this paper I studied the methods of Siamese to Chinese lexicon translation as well as the meanings of some particular words, the results then were analysed in aspect of cultural exchange. The finding showed the different levels of cross-cultural interaction in both societies. Söderblom Saarela Mårten (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) Leibniz's Hopes for a Manchu Encyclopedia and the Qing Imperial Mirror (han-i araha manju gisun-i buleku bithe) of 1708 Key words: Lexicography, Qing, Europe, Manchu, Language In the fall of 1699, Joachim Bouvet of the Society of Jesus wrote from Peking to Leibniz that the Kangxi emperor of China “is currently commanding work on a Manchu Tartar dictionary, which, con- taining also Chinese, will offer knowledge of both languages simultaneously once translated” into a European idiom. Bouvet\'s report gave Leibniz an idea: what if the Jesuits, who had conveyed so much European knowledge to the Qing court, would convince the emperor that they could be of use for the dictionary project? They could help turn it into a universal lexicon, both general and specific, contain- ing descriptions and illustrations of the best of the China’s knowledge in all fields. The Jesuits could then translate the resulting book, send it to Europe, and thus alleviate the deficit in the Sino-European knowledge exchange. Leibniz\'s suggestion seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Insiders in the Qing capital would have known that the plan was impossible, that the motivations behind the great editorial projects of the Qing court were ultimately irreconcilable with a ecumenical attempt to collect all the empire\'s knowledge into a book for general, international use. Leibniz was not alone to have hopes for the eight- eenth century. The Qianlong emperor, for one, hoped for an “eternal heavenly mandate” for his Manchu house, and that ambition, not Leibniz’s quest for knowledge, permeates much of the encyclopedic work undertaken on imperial orders in the period. This paper will consider the lexicographic reference work, Han-i araha manju gisun-i buleku bithe (1708), that resulted from the project reported by Bouvet, in rela- tion to Leibniz’s hopes for it. It will show that an encyclopedia or a dictionary could be very different things in eighteenth-century Europe and China.