早期現代歐洲中文研究—以三位鮮為人知的學者為例

My project entitled “Early Modern Europeans on the Chinese Language: Three Lesser-Known Cases” went on between 2017 and 2021. The project built on my long-term interest in the ways Europeans historically imagined Chinese writing and language and in the manners in which this fanciful Chinese language and script influenced (and were influenced by) the major intellectual developments they were contemporary with. Stemming specifically from my on-going focus on early modern visions on these topics, the project aimed to throw light on three investigators of the “mysteries” of Chinese, namely the French would-be inventor Jean Douet (1587-1665?) and the English polymaths Robert Hooke (1635-1703) and William Stukeley (1687-1765). By closely reading the significantly under-studied printed and manuscript works penned by these three writers in relation to aspects connected to the Chinese language, and in keeping with the goals and methods used in my previous MOST research projects and in my published contributions (a monograph and several articles), my project attempted to fully explore the contribution of the selected authors against the intellectual background of their times and the larger problematics of the “European Chinese language.” As demonstrated by one published, one submitted for publication and one work-in-progress article, six conference papers (twice the number originally planned), and several other significant academic activities, I believe that both the research aims and the concrete objectives I set myself for this project have been largely met.