约 (Yue) Contract
Author: Zhu Andong 约(Yue)is a polysemy in Chinese, and more than 20 meanings are listed in the Chinese Dictionary. According to Shuowen Jiezi, the…
Author: Zhu Andong 约(Yue)is a polysemy in Chinese, and more than 20 meanings are listed in the Chinese Dictionary. According to Shuowen Jiezi, the…
Author: Chen Bisheng ” Rites”[1] is the core concept of Chinese culture. Most of the dynasties in Chinese history have made ceremonies and rituals,…
Author: Zhu Andong Basic meaning In ancient Chinese, the left part of 私 means rice seedling, and the right part means own self. The…
Authors: Lau KinChi and Huang Ping Many terms in vernacular Chinese existed in classical Chinese, yet they have taken on a qualitatively different meaning…
Authors: Huang Ping and Lau KinChi In modern Chinese since 1949, Guo (国,國) is more a combination of nation, state, country, land, and its…
Author: Matthias Middell The very fact that there are differences in the English and French versions of our keyword indicates already that it is…
Author: Michael Kahn-Ackermann The 19th century was the century of great European ideologies, though most of them would not have their global, and often…
Arthor: Sun Xiangchen “Ji” (己)is a very old Chinese character. It first appeared in the oracle bone inscriptions. The meaning of this word in…
Arthor: Sun Xiangchen The Chinese word “Xin” (心) is a very old concept, which has an important meaning in Chinese philosophy. Its pictogram describes…
Arthor: Zhao Tingyang 1 A word for event and/or record The original meaning of the Chinese word for history (Shi,史) was “event and/or record”.…
Mutual understanding is the foundation of international relations. If globalization leads us to use a common lexicon, we often tend to forget that meanings differ from one culture to the other. Lack of understanding or, sometimes, confusion in meaning, breaks communication.
When China speaks in a foreign language, it uses a lexicon that is more often than never not on par with its own history and culture. It uses words to which it may assign, consciously or unconsciously, different meanings. No dialogue can be effective if interlocutors disagree on the very meaning of what they say to each other.
More than 2000 years ago, Confucius noted the imperative “to assign proper meanings to concepts”, zheng ming 正名. That is precisely what this digital platform offers by attempting to bridge the gap of cultural differences, while respecting the essential value of cultural diversity without falling in the trap of cultural relativism. This initiative aims thus to confront key concepts between Europe and China by designing a methodical guide to handle and solve eventual misunderstandings.
Remarkably, the origin of this project stems back to the 1980’s when a number of dialogues contributed to create a trustworthy network of scholars in Europe and in China. With the renewed support of the European Union, the ‘EU-China Forum on Cultural Misunderstandings’ gathers a group of high level European and Chinese intellectuals who share the awareness that cultural misunderstandings impede mutual comprehension and positive interactions between the EU and China at all levels.
The digital platform ambitions to be a constant, accessible and tangible instrument for uploading contributions and conducting initial debates in preparation of the November 2021 Forum.
The contributions of all participating authors will be included in the EU-China Dictionary of Misunderstandings, published digitally and eventually also in a physical form. It intends to be a meaningful, scientific and literate instrument for the benefit of mutual understanding between Europe and China.
It is certainly my hope that this editorial project of a Europe-China Dictionary of Misunderstandings may constitute a reference tool for further research and exchanges.
Nicolas Chapuis
Ambassador of the European Union to the People’s Republic of China
May 2021