Japanese for Sinologists - by Joshua A Fogel & Fumiko Joo Hardcover

About the Book

"This textbook, the first of its kind, us aimed at helping students of Chinese history and culture acquire a great ability at reading Japanese. After an introduction, several charts, and guide to dictionaries, it presents eight chapters--each with a brief introduction, the Japanese text, and an extensive, layered vocabulary list. All chapters are taken from ordinary Japanese resources, but all of the authors are known to be extraordinary scholars. The final appendix provides full translations of all the essays. The principal audience is students who have completed two or three years of classroom Japanese language instruction and want to jump into China-related materials. Although best used in a classroom with a teacher, especially assiduous students may be able to use it on their own."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

For many years it has been known that scholars of Chinese history and culture must keep abreast of scholarship in Japan, but the great majority have found that to be difficult. Japanese for Sinologists is the first textbook dedicated to helping Sinologists learn to read scholarly Japanese writing on China. It includes essays by eminent scholars, vocabulary lists with romanizations, English translations, grammar notes, and a wealth of general information not easily available anywhere.

The reader will be introduced to a wide panoply of famed Sinologists and their writing styles. The first chapters introduce some basic information on dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other resources for research on China in Japanese materials, including a list of names and terms from Chinese political, historical, and cultural events. The chapters cover a range of topics and time periods and highlight authors, all well-known Japanese scholars, with an appendix of English translations of all the articles. After completing this book, the user will be able to begin his or her own reading in Japanese Sinology without the extensive apparatus this volume supplies.

From the Back Cover

"Japanese for Sinologists is an essential resource brimming with useful information for the aspiring scholar of China who seeks to read Japanese. Most of the sample texts are from the writings of giants of a former generation, which means the book has the salutary effect of introducing the reader to these important scholars in their original language. It also serves as a guide to reference materials, both on paper and online."--Tobie Meyer-Fong, Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University, and editor of Late Imperial China

"This volume fulfills a crucial need for advanced training in Chinese studies. Students and scholars alike will benefit not only from the practical guidance in reading Japanese scholarship, but also from the opportunity to familiarize (or reacquaint) themselves with the writings and ideas of seminal figures in Japanese Sinology."--Richard von Glahn, author of The Economic History of China from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century

"Japanese scholarship is essential for the study of Chinese history and culture. Sinologists will find this reading primer immensely helpful for acquiring the reading knowledge to gain access to such scholarship."--Wai-yee Li, author of Women and National Trauma in Late Imperial Chinese Literature

About the Author

Joshua A. Fogel is Canada Research Chair in modern Chinese history at York University. He specializes in the cultural ties between China and Japan in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His most recent book is Maiden Voyage: The Senzaimaru and the Creation of Modern Sino-Japanese Relations.

Fumiko Joo is Assistant Professor of Asian Studies in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures at Mississippi State University.