作者：Luo Hongbo 文章来源：Site author 更新时间：2007-09-18 17:23:27
Italy is a country full of creativity, taking a very important position in the long history of the development of the Western civilization. She has always been an object of attention and study with the Chinese scholars. The Italian studies this paper deals with refer mainly to the research of Italian economy, politics, foreign affairs, law, society, history and culture, etc, with stress laid on the current situation of China’s research in the post-War Italy.
An introduction to the development of research of Italy in China
1. China’s research of Italy before the end of the Second World War.
The earliest and detailed Chinese written records of China’s understanding and research of Italy can be traced back to the History of the Later Han Dynasty (Hou Han Shu). In ancient times, Roman Empire was referred to in China as Daqin. The name of Daqin was first found in the History of the Later Han Dynasty. Besides descriptions of Daqin’s natural conditions, geography, agriculture, handicraft, trade, folk customs and dwellings, the book also emphatically records the country’s political system: “There are five palaces with ten li apart from each other… The king of the country visited a palace each day, listening to reports, and for five days the king finishes visiting all the five of them. The king ordered a man holding a bag following his carriage, anyone who wanted to say something could put a letter into the bag. When the king arrived at the palace, he would read the letters and judge the right and wrong. There were various civil officials as well as 36 generals, who were gathered to discuss the state affairs. The king is not always the same person, but he who is able and virtuous is made the king. If there is natural calamity, drought or floods, the king would be removed from the throne and a new king elected, and the former king was willing to step down… ” This is China’s earliest understanding and comments on the ancient Roman Republic. In later official history books like The History of the Wei (Wei Shu) and the History of the Jin (Jin Shu), special records on Daqin are also found. The Western Roman Empire became extinct in 476 A.C., Germanic people established barbarian kingdoms in Italy and all over the Western Europe, commercial activities stopped and the connections with the East terminated for the time being.1 In the 12th century, the Mongolians went on an expedition across the Asian and European continents and established a great empire covering China, Central Asia, Western Asia and Eastern Europe, providing convenience to the traffic between China and Europe.2 By now among the Europeans who came to China, Italians played a main role.3 From accounts by merchants and missionaries coming to China and Chinese travelers, Chinese people increased their understanding of Italy, yet still very limited. From the 14th century to the beginning of the 16th century, people to people contacts and cultural exchanges between China and the West again dropped to the low. During this period, both China and Italy experienced major historical changes. In China the Ming dynasty with its ruler of the Han nationality replaced the rule of the Mongolians; and the Chinese traditional culture was paid more attention to and saw a restoration. In Italy, the Renaissance reached its height of full bloom.4 Coupled with large numbers of Jesuits missionaries coming to China, the Sino-West cultural exchanges entered in a most important historical period, or the first high tide of the Sino-West cultural exchanges.5 During this period, the Europeans, while disseminating their religion, brought in advanced natural scientific knowledge and techniques and spread far and wide knowledge related to European thinking, culture, society, folk custom, economy as well as political structure. In this regard, the Italian missionary G. Aleni made the greatest contributions. In the 1620s, G. Aleni, assisted by Yang Tingyun, one of the three Catholic pillars in China at the time, wrote in the Chinese language a book Accounts on Foreign Countries (Zhi Fang Wai Ji), which is the first work on the world geography in the Chinese history. The book is in five volumes, the second volume is on Europe. In addition to introducing European cities, architecture, folk custom, cuisine and languages, it also gives accounts on the royal family systems, marriage, religion, army, education, taxation, and law. As Italy is G. Aleni’s homeland, the accounts on Italy is all the more detailed.6 In 1631, G. Aleni’s new work The Western Education (Xi Xue Fan) was printed in Hangzhou. This is the only book introducing the European educational system written by a Jesuit missionary. 7 In 1637, another of G. Aleni’s book Questions and Answers on the West (Xifang Wen Da) was published. This book introduced the European culture containing information on all branches of knowledge, playing the most important role of laying the foundation in spreading the Western civilization and its ancient culture. This book later became the blueprint to The Gist of Western Knowledge for the Emperor’s Reading (Yu Lan Xifang Yao Ji). 8
In the 17th and 18th centuries, quite a few Chinese went to the West with missionaries, but few were able to write to introduce Europe to the Chinese people. Fan Shouyi from Pingyang, Shanxi province, went to Europe with missionaries at the order of the Qing court. He arrived in Italy in 1709. After that, he studied in Rome and Turin and also traveled to different places for ten years. He wrote an article: What I Have Seen (Shen Jian Lu). In spite of the fact that it is only travel notes of 6000 Chinese characters, it played a very important role in helping the Chinese people to understand Italy.9
The close-door policy the Qing government pursued caused the Chinese understanding and research of Europe and Italy to drop low again. It was not until after the Opium War, advanced Chinese intellectuals, for the purpose to safeguard China from the invasion of Western powers and save the nation from doom and build the country into a strong one, began to study and do research in Western powers. Introductions to Italy were found in Lin Zexu’s work An Account of the Four Continents (Si Zhou Zhi) and Wei Yuan’s book Maps and Accounts of the Overseas Countries (Hai Guo Tu Zhi). By now the Chinese intellectuals started to go out of the country to study and travel in Europe and Japan, China also sent diplomatic envoys to station abroad. Some of these people wrote travel notes or about their impressions. During the 1898 Reform Movement, Kang Youwei once was forced to leave the country and went to Europe. He wrote, expressing his deep impression on the Italian history, culture, and changes and reform in politics and economy. 10 In the 1920s, B. Mussolini, the founder of Fascism, came to power, and Fascism was in vogue, there were Chinese who translated some monographs about the Italian Fascist government and policy, for example, A History of Italian Society and Economy (Yidali shehui Jingji Shi), which was a translation from Japanese in 1936, and The Italian Policy of Immigration (Yidali Yimin Zhengce), an edited translation from English in 1937.
In short, before the Second World War, China’s research in Italy was in a stage of getting to know the country, the works published were mainly travel impressions, geography, history and folk custom, which can hardly called research in its true sense.
2. China’s research in Italy after the war
In the Cold War period of the 1950s, China and Italy belonged to different camps. There were no diplomatic relations or exchanges between the two countries. Not only little research was done on Italy, but also translation works on Italy scarce; and the few translations were from Russian. Influenced by the Cold War, the translations were confined to a narrow sphere of politics, such as A Brief History of the Italian Communist Party (Yidali Gongchandang Jian Shi), The Italian Communist Party (Yidali Gongchandang), Italy in the General Crisis of Capitalism (Zibenzhuyi Zong Weiji Shiqi de Yidali), and A Brief History of the Italian Trade Union Movement (Yidali Gonghui Yundong Jian Shi), etc.
In the 1960s and 1970s, with the deterioration of the Sino-Soviet relations, the Chinese social science research began to get rid of the Soviet influences. Books written by Chinese scholars on the research of Italy increased in numbers. For example, the famous historian Professor Zhu Hualong, a specialist in the study of the Italian Renaissance history, got his book The Italian Renaissance (Yidali Wenyi Fuxing) published in 1963. At the same time, translations from works in the English language also increased, for instance, Selected Works of Thomas Aquina on Politics (Akuina Zhengzhi Zhuzuo Xuan). From 1953 to 1963, the Italian economy developed at a high speed and Italy soon ascended to rank among the top Seven of the Western industrialized countries. This phenomenon aroused the interest and caught the attention of the Chinese scholars, and related books were published, such as An Introduction to the Italian Economic Policy 1945-1959 (Yidali Jingji Zhengce Gailun 1945-1959). To strengthen the research of Italy, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recruited a group of personnel who have a good command of the Italian language to engage in the research of Italian economy and language. However, affected by the Cultural Revolution, the research in Italy was at a standstill for a long time. From 1964 to 1980, not even one monograph or translation on Italian politics, economy, society, law, or foreign affairs was published.
After 1979, the reform and opening to the outside world brought about new vitality to the Chinese social sciences and the research in Italy saw a prosperous development in the 1980s. According to primary statistics by the Central library of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the 1980s more than 40 books on the research of Italy were published, more than doubled that in the 1950-60s. Among them, 17 monographs were written by Chinese scholars, covering various research fields, such as politics, economy, society, law, history, ideology, persons of distinction, and folk custom. Moreover, there were also works directly translated from Italian. The influential monographs and translations are: Rong Dianxin, et.al., An Introduction to Italian Economy and Politics (Yidali Zhengzhi Jingji Gailun), Zhao Keyi, A History of Italian Unification (Yidali Tongyi Shi), Wang Yanlin, et.al., Italy (Yidali), and the Law Textbook Editing Group of Roman Law, ed.. Roman Law (Luoma Fa), and translations from English: Italy Chooses Europe (Yidali Xuanze Ouzhou) and The Italians (Yidali Ren) by Luigi Barzini, etc.
In the meantime, the academic exchanges between China and Italy also developed. In 1985, The Institute of West European Studies under the CASS (in 1994, the name was changed into the Institute of European Studies) established a cooperative relationship with the Italian Giovanni Agnelli Fundation that supported the research of Italy in China. In 1988, An Italian Branch was set up under China Society of West European Studies (the name was changed into China Society of European Studies in 1994), which no doubt showed that the studies in Italy further developed in China.
Since the 1990s, a new high tide has surged in the studies of Italy in China, shown in the greatly increased publication of academic monographs on Italy and the level of the research raised remarkably. The influential monographs in this period are: Zhang Chunnian, From a belief to rationality—A study of the Italian Humanism (Cong Xinyang dao Lixing—Yidali Renwenzhuyi Yanjiu), Rong Dianxin, et.al., The Road of the Italian Industrialization (Yidali Gongyehua zhi Lu), Hu Jin, ed., The Socialist Movement in Italy (Yidali Shehui Zhuyi Yundong), Fei Anling, et.al., A Study of Roman Law of Inheritance (Luoma Jicheng Fa Yanjiu). Many other monographs having special chapters or paragraphs on Italy were also published one after another. Among the translations, those social science works translated directly from Italian took about 50 percent of the total.
The contingent of Italian studies and the research fields in China
1. The contingent of Italian studies
There are not many people doing research in Italy in China; the total number of the scholars is no more than 50. At present, the Chinese institutions engaged in the studies of Italy consist of four categories: One, the related departments and divisions in the CCP and the government organs, such as the Italian Division of the West European Department in the Foreign Ministry and the Italian Section of the West European Division in the Central Liaison Department of the CCP. The researchers mainly are graduates from universities who majored in Italian language. Their job is to do investigation and study of Italy proceeding from the needs of their departments. Two, the scientific research institutes, such as the Institute of European Studies, the Institute of World Economic Studies, the Institute of Philosophical Studies, the Institute of Religious Studies, all under the CASS. In these institutes there are specialists engaged in studies of Italy. Most of the researchers were graduates from universities and colleges majored in foreign languages, and then got their Master degree in the Graduate School of the CASS or at universities, or had advanced study in Universities in Italy. They have a very good basis to do the study of Italy. Three, universities. There are teaching staff concurrently engaged in the research of Italy in Peking University, the University of Politics and Law, Qinghua University, Shandong University and Henan University. These researchers usually did not major in foreign languages and they came to do research in Italy just by chance, owing to the need in their work or out of personal interest or liking. They are characterized by a strong disciplinary theory and clear conceptions. However, owing to heavy teaching burden, they can hardly devote all their time in the research of Italy. At the same time, as quite a few of them restrained by foreign language ability have to do the research of Italy through materials in the English language and cannot have first-hand information. In recent years, with the increased exchanges between China and Italy, some of them taking advantage of working in Italy, have started to command the Italian language. Four, the mass media units, such as the Xinhua News Agency, the People’s Daily, Guangming Daily. These famous units all have journalists covering Italy. The journalists while reporting on Italy also do research in the country.
In short, though the contingent of Italian studies is not big, the scholars have conducted the research from different disciplines, different fields and different angles. Thanks to the activities of the Italian Branch of the China Society of European Studies, a research network has been formed all over China, so that the research in Italy in China can develop both in height and in depth.
2. The fields of the research
The research in various countries belongs to the research of international issues. In the early stage, the research in international issues was done mainly according to the needs of Chinese foreign relations in terms of issues or countries at the time. For example, the related division in the Foreign Ministry conducted investigation and research of Italy proceeding from the Sino-Italian relations, while that in the Central Liaison Department of the CCP did research in the Communist Party of Italy to mainly serve the purpose of the CCP foreign relations. In the middle of the 1960s, the Philosophy and Social Science Department of the China Academy of Science recruited a number of talents to do the research of different countries, thus laying the foundation of studying different countries as a part of the social science studies. At present, China’s studies in Italy mainly cover the following disciplines and projects:
Politics __ Main research projects include: the parliamentarian system in Italy, the Italian political parties, the political situation in Italy, the foreign policy of Italy, the Italian policy of foreign aid, Italy and the EU, the relations between China and Italy, etc.
Economics __ Main research projects are: The Italian industrial revolution and industrialization, the Italian economic policy, the Italian state-owned enterprises and their reform, the Italian policy on medium-sized and small enterprises, the Italian policy on developing underdeveloped areas, the Italian taxation system, and the Italian banking system, etc.
Social sciences __ Main research projects are: The Italian welfare policy and its reform, organized criminals, the issue of underground laborers and immigration.
Law __ Main projects are: Roman Law, the Italian Code Civil, the Italian Company law, the Italian Law of property right, and the Italian Law of Inheritance, etc.
History and culture __ Main projects include: the Italian modern history, humanism in the Renaissance period in Italy, etc.
Since the 1980s, the research in Italy has been characterized by the following features:
1. Of creativity. Thanks to various reasons, the research of Italy in China was relatively weak after the war. The research of many projects served to fill the gaps. For example, the research in the Italian parliamentarian system, the foreign policy, the industrialization process, enterprises with the state participation, medium-sized and small enterprises, policy on the development of the underdeveloped areas, the civil law and the company law, etc. These projects not only positively promoted the establishment and development of the whole European studies as a discipline, but also provided important references to the decision-making organs. Some of the projects caught special attention of the top leadership. For example, Comrade Jiang Zemin invited the Deputy Director of the China Society of Italian Studies Li Yucheng to hold a panel on the Italian humanism.
2. Of uneven development. Some of the research fields have special researchers with a long academic history, thus the research is systematic, strong in theoretical analysis, such as the research in the Italian political system, the Italian economy and the Italian law; but in other fields, there is lack of special researchers, the research started only for a short time, thus the research seems scattered, mainly giving introduction to the situation, such as the research in the social policy, the finance, and the banking system, etc.
3. As there are not many scholars specialized in the research of Italy, and most of them do the research while doing their other projects, or teaching, or providing information, this part of Italian researchers is fairly mobile.
The prospects of the Research in Italy in China
Research in different countries is the basis of the study of international issues, which belongs to multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies. Each researcher often has his/her own focus. This situation requires opportunities of mutual exchanges in order to enhance an all-round and in-depth research. To this purpose, China Society of European Studies set up branches for regional or country studies. Since the Italian Branch was set up in 1988, it has actively promoted the research of Italy in China and achieved remarkable results. The Italian Branch mainly holds seminars and panels, not only attracts specialists but also those who are interested in the research of Italy. As we know, to further strengthen the research of Italy, the Institute of European Studies is preparing to set up a center of Italian Studies. The proposed center will be divided into four groups: politics, economy, law, and socio-culture and history, which will be the core of the research. These groups will further promote the Italian research in China with projects as linking ties, guided by theories of the related disciplines and taking scientific methodology as the means.
NOTES
1. See Zhu Longhua, “From ‘the Silk Road’ to Macco Polo – the cultural exchanges between China and Italy,” see Zhou Yiliang ed. A History of Cultural Exchanges between China and Foreign Countries (Zhong Wai Wenhua Jiaoliu Shi), Henan Renmin Chubanshe, 1987, p.271.
2. op.cit.
3. op. cit.
4. op.cit., p. 286.
5. Xu Minglong, ed., The Forerunners of the Cultural Exchanges between China and West. Forewaord (Zhong Xi Wenhua Jiaoliu Xianqu. Qianyan), Dongfang Chubanshe, 1993, p. 1.
6. op. cit., pp. 31-32.
7. op. cit., p. 34.
8. The Gist of Western Knowledge for the Emperor’s Reading (Yu Lan Xifang Yao Ji) was a book written at the order of the Emperor of the Qing dynasty by Jesuit missionaries Ludovico Buglio, Ferdinand Verbiest et.al., The book was finished in the Seventh year of Emperor Kangxi. It was later widely spread.
9. Zhou Yiliang ed., A History of Cultural Exchanges between China and Foreign Countries (Zhong Wai Wenhua Jiaoliu Shi), Henan Renmin Chubanshe 1987, p. 297.
10. The book was reprinted by Hunan Renmin Chubanshe in 1980.
Translated by Ma Jisen
