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winterbadgerThanks to Nick Bruner for pointing me to this article.
I would question some of the conclusions that the (apparently Japanese) author, writing from Japan and quoting exclusively Japanese sources, makes.
*That* I think is true, as is the statement that
though that latter comment is a bit of a misunderstanding. But I strongly disagree when he says that
and draws the conclusion that
I can;t imagine the Chinese wanting to "make foreigners Chinese." I would wager that the Chinese are simply more subtle in the way that they choose the characters that represent foreign things. And are conscious that everyone *knows* so and so is a foreign word, concept, person. It's my impression, the Japanese, always inscrutable and oblique in Western eyes, are brash and blatant to the Chinese mind. For example, I've been given to understand that the characters used to create the word "Mei-guo" (America) not only carry the phonetic sound but imply on one level a land of wealth and riches, and in a subtler and less obvious way say something profoundly (from a Chinese perspective) insulting about American and Americans.
The Chinese are still very conscious of their place in the middle, not of the world, but *between* heaven and earth. I find it fascinating that, after the Revolution, Mao did not change the name of the country; the official name of the government, yes, but the name "Middle Kingdom" went unchanged when so many other things were transformed. I think that bespeaks how essential it is to the nature of the Chinese understanding of themselves.
I would question some of the conclusions that the (apparently Japanese) author, writing from Japan and quoting exclusively Japanese sources, makes.
"China is a big continent and has an inclination to think that it is No. 1 and that others are uncivilized," said Minoru Shibata, a researcher at NHK, Japan's public broadcast network. "Therefore, they feel that giving Chinese names to foreigners is doing them a favor."
*That* I think is true, as is the statement that
China has traditionally viewed itself as the Middle Kingdom of its name, the center of the world
though that latter comment is a bit of a misunderstanding. But I strongly disagree when he says that
non-Chinese names are depicted, sometimes with great difficulty, entirely in Chinese characters.
and draws the conclusion that
Foreigners are, in effect, made Chinese.
I can;t imagine the Chinese wanting to "make foreigners Chinese." I would wager that the Chinese are simply more subtle in the way that they choose the characters that represent foreign things. And are conscious that everyone *knows* so and so is a foreign word, concept, person. It's my impression, the Japanese, always inscrutable and oblique in Western eyes, are brash and blatant to the Chinese mind. For example, I've been given to understand that the characters used to create the word "Mei-guo" (America) not only carry the phonetic sound but imply on one level a land of wealth and riches, and in a subtler and less obvious way say something profoundly (from a Chinese perspective) insulting about American and Americans.
The Chinese are still very conscious of their place in the middle, not of the world, but *between* heaven and earth. I find it fascinating that, after the Revolution, Mao did not change the name of the country; the official name of the government, yes, but the name "Middle Kingdom" went unchanged when so many other things were transformed. I think that bespeaks how essential it is to the nature of the Chinese understanding of themselves.
