New Terms for New Ideas: Western Knowledge and Lexical Change in Late Imperial China

This volume is about the lasting impact of Western notions on the 19th and early 20th-century Chinese language; their invention, spread and standardization. Reaching beyond the mere cataloguing of the thousands of lexical innovations in this period of change, the essays explore the multiple ways in which initially alien notions were naturalized in Chinese scientific and political discourse. Topics examined range from preconceptions about the capacity of the Chinese language to accommodate foreign ideas, the formation of specific nomenclatures and the roles of individual translators, to Chinese and European attempts at coming to terms with each other’s grammar. By systematically analyzing and assessing the lexical adaptation of Western notions in Chinese contexts, the book will serve as a reference work for all those interested in the historical semantics of modern China.