Sinologist bet365 cricket odds’s “misreading” of “Nong”
October 24, 2022 08:48 Source: "bet365 cricket odds Social Sciences Journal" Issue 2514, October 24, 2022 Author: Zhang Yiying

Early Sinological texts are an important window for mutual understanding between Chinese and European cultures,It is also a key field for civilizational exchanges。Among them,Missionary born in Italy、Sinologist Domingo Fernández de Navarrete, 1610-1689) "History of Chinese Dynasties" published after living in bet365 cricket odds for more than ten years、Politics、Ethics and Religion》,As soon as it came out, it attracted the attention of European intellectual circles。The description of bet365 cricket odds’s agricultural conditions in this work shows the way Europeans understood Chinese society in the 17th century。

  bet365 cricket odds the “Four People” to “Nong”bet365 cricket odds yeoman

《History of bet365 cricket odds Dynasties、Politics、Treatise on Ethics and Religion published in 1676,The book has 7 volumes in total,The records related to agriculture mainly appear in Chapter 1 of Volume 2,By introducing taxis in bet365 cricket odds society、Farm、work、Four business groups,Expand the key description of "agriculture"。

 In the book,Min Mingwo introduced: "The number of farmers in China is huge,Farming is running in an orderly manner。Farmers have a higher status than businessmen and workers。”He also used words such as “abundant yield per mu”, “vast land” and “prosperous life” to describe the situation in rural China。In the account of Chinese agricultural knowledge,bet365 cricket odds, I chose to use the word "labrador" to translate the Chinese word "nong"。But the term "labrador" is not completely consistent with the category referred to by "agriculture",Although Min Mingwo’s translation reflects his unique understanding of Chinese society at that time,But it also caused the conceptual migration of "agriculture" in the exchanges between China and the West。

According to the explanation of the Spanish Royal Academy of Philology,The Spanish word "labrador" means "a person who owns land and works it for himself",meaning "yeoman farmer"。In modern Spanish,When referring to "farmers",The common word is "campesino",means "life、People working in the fields”。The latter has a larger range than the former,That is, the broad term "peasant" (campesino) should include other categories of farmers such as homesteaders (labrador) who own land and tenant farmers (arrendatario) who cultivate land owned by others。Visible,bet365 cricket odds, I chose to use "labrador" to refer to China's "farmer",It is a misunderstanding of this concept、Restriction and migration。

bet365 cricket odds’s limitation on “agriculture” can be confirmed by more descriptions in his works。In his records,Information about farmers is often hidden in the description of specific farming activities。In bet365 cricket odds’s opinion,Agriculture constitutes the primary prerequisite for the operation of all aspects of Chinese society: "All livelihoods are on the farmland that has been sown - when it is time to harvest,Farmers want to go up the mountain to cut trees、Preparing the vegetable garden、Harvesting reeds,Never idle。"He then introduced the three crops grown in rotation on the land,That’s rice、Beans、Wheat,And after the crop matures,Farmers will take the grain to sell,Exchange for firewood、Oil and vegetables。This description provides another evidence to confirm that bet365 cricket odds and I equated "farmers" with "yeoman farmers"。Therefore,As landowners, "yeoman farmers" became the representatives of Chinese farmers in Min Mingwo's works,Other peasant groups such as tenant farmers are excluded from the concept of “farm”。

  bet365 cricket odds“Misreading” of temporal bet365 cricket odds

bet365 cricket odds, why do I have such a "biased understanding"?This is related to his source of information。As a European missionary in the 17th century,bet365 cricket odds’s sources of information mainly include China-related materials published in Europe、Various classics collected in public circulation during his stay in China,And his field experience。

It can be seen from his description of the “scholars” among the “four peoples”,bet365 cricket odds’s understanding of “agriculture” should not be taken from pre-Qin classics。In his works,bet365 cricket odds translated "shi" as "literati" (letrado) in Spanish,In the conception of Guan Zhong, the proposer of the concept of "Four People",“Shi” is actually “a person with fists, courage, thighs and strength”,The "Samurai" who stands out from the crowd。In the beginning, “scholars” among the “four peoples” were not directly equated with “literati”,But social stability in later generations、Conceptual changes occurred during the rise of the intellectual class。bet365 cricket odds’s approach of translating “shi” as “literati” (rather than “soldiers”),Revealing that his understanding of the "four peoples" most likely did not come from pre-Qin classics。In addition,Considering that there is no detailed relevant writing in European works before or at the same time,It can be judged that bet365 cricket odds's knowledge of the "Four People" should mainly come from the humanities and customs he came into contact with during his stay in China,His understanding of "agriculture" is also related to the region and environment where he lives。

In his works,bet365 cricket odds, I mentioned rice、Soybeans、Wheat,He also wrote: “Rice is grown in water。"This proves that what I saw was rice, not upland rice,And “harvest twice a year,It’s June and December respectively” “China’s farmland never lies fallow”,It can be seen from this,It describes the situation in southern China with a warm climate。Discovered from historical data and related research,End of Ming Dynasty and beginning of Qing Dynasty,The Zhejiang area where bet365 cricket odds and I have lived for a long time has a relatively obvious feature of private land ownership。“The development trend of homesteaders,If viewed from a dynasty,Much in the early stage,Less in the middle and late stages,The number increased after the change of dynasties。"bet365 cricket odds and I are living in China during the period of "change of dynasties",Activities in areas where land private ownership is more obvious,This caused him to have a misunderstanding of China’s “agriculture”,The original scope of this concept has been greatly restricted。British historian Peter Burke called this phenomenon "cultural mistranslation",That is, the "language correspondence" activity that is not completely accurate when there is a bias in understanding other cultures。In cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries,“Cultural mistranslation” used to be a more prominent problem。bet365 cricket odds, my misreading、Mistranslation reflects strong regional and temporal characteristics,That is, the content in his book can often only be used to understand what the author saw in the area where he was at that time,Rather than quoting or verifying knowledge from original classics。

 “Misunderstanding” is bet365 cricket odds to Spanish social conditions

The misunderstanding of "agriculture" did not affect bet365 cricket odds's praise of China's agricultural system。At the beginning of the section "Farmers and Agriculture",bet365 cricket odds introduced me,“The Chinese emperor took care of the farmers as much as possible,Because it is their work that supports the whole country" "China still retains a ceremony,This is the emperor taking his children out of the palace,Go and plow the soil yourself”。He also thinks,Europe should introduce this ritual,In order to let the nobles know the hard work of the people,Attach importance to agriculture。To further prove China’s support for agriculture,He also told about Emperor Hanwen’s exemption from taxes、The Story of Encouraging Nongsang to Give Classes。

At that time, Spain had a serious problem in the agricultural field: crop failure,Animal husbandry、Church land、The hunting grounds of the nobles occupied most of the land,The harsh policies of the Inquisition caused a large loss of agricultural population。One of the main reasons for these problems is that Spain devoted most of its manpower to overseas conquest and trade。Starting from this background,We can also understand、Analysis of bet365 cricket odds’s psychological motivations for limiting “farmers” to “owner farmers”。bet365 cricket odds and I advocate paying attention to agriculture,Disapprove of neglecting domestic agricultural production in order to develop overseas trade,Although groups such as "farmers", "sharecroppers" and "farmers" also perform agricultural work,Compared to "homesteaders", there is an additional layer of commodity-based employment relationship。bet365 cricket odds and I "hide" the identities of these groups,Whether intentionally or unintentionally,All have achieved the effect of eliminating the commercial factors in "agriculture" and returning it to the original meaning of "farming"。What’s behind this,In fact, it is the reflection of European scholars on the relationship between agriculture and business in early modern society during the great voyages。Min Mingwo’s “physiocratic” proposition was later used for reference by scholars of the French Physiocratic School,Even his biased understanding of the Chinese "peasant" group was passed down through the literal translation from "labrador" to "laboureur"。It can be said,Records of Chinese Society in Early Modern European Texts,To a certain extent, it is a civilized dialogue about "land issues"。

In summary,bet365 cricket odds Mingwo in "History of Chinese Dynasties"、Politics、Ethics and Religion" contains a more detailed description of the agricultural situation in China in the 17th century。His translation of "Nong" in China's "Four People" society reflects his unique concern for the owner-peasant group,This is related to the agricultural characteristics of the areas where its activities in China are located,This is also the result of his "misreading" of China's agricultural policies and agricultural activities based on the social conditions of his country。

Some scholars believe,15、The turn of the 16th century was the origin stage of globalization,It is also Chinese culture、The period when academic ideas were first introduced to Europe on a large scale。Written with bet365 cricket odds’s agricultural knowledge,The agricultural conditions and agricultural policies of ancient China were officially introduced to Europe,And became a model of national governance for a long time thereafter。In ancient times, China was praised by Europeans for its agricultural prosperity,“If Europe follows China’s lead,Many disasters can be avoided”。Now,Agricultural development is still an important reference item for measuring the level of national development,It is also one of the key focuses of exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations,More complicated today、In a diverse international environment,In the process of telling the story of China,Do a good job in writing related to “agriculture”,Still an issue we need to pay attention to。

(bet365 cricket odds’s unit: School of Foreign Languages, Sichuan University)

Editor: Chang Chang
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