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8 The Use of Sinology in the Nineteenth Century: Two Perspectives Revealed in the History of Hong Kong1 Wong Man-kong Of th e thre e reason s fo r th e "eventua l acceptanc e o f Sinolog y a s a n academic subject, " a s suggeste d b y Wolfgan g Frank e (1912 - ), th e thir d reason, "practica l requirement s i n the wake o f colonia l expansion," 2 i s of particular relevanc e fo r student s o f Hon g Kon g history . Thi s chapte r investigates the historical connotations of "practical requirements" that made possible the pursuit of sinology, as illuminated through the cases of James Legge (1815-1897) an d Ernest John Eitel (1838-1908).3 Legge and Eitel had worked for the London Missionary Society (LMS ) for abou t 30 years and 1 4 years respectively before th e former became the first Chinese professor at the University of Oxford for 21 years and the latter a civi l servan t o f th e Hon g Kon g governmen t fo r 1 8 years. LM S Chin a missionaries bega n studyin g th e Chines e languag e fro m th e 1810s . Thi s paper thus begins with an attempt to outline the origin of the use of sinology among LMS China missionaries. The latter part tackles questions about the uses of sinology for the missionary cause and the colonial administration in Hong Kong . This chapte r als o examines the uses o f sinology , o r practica l requirements behin d thei r pursui t o f sinology , an d cover s briefl y thei r academic contributions.4 136 WON G MAN-KON G The Origin of the Use of Sinology in LMS's China Missions LMS started its China missions in Southeast Asia while China was not open to Christian missions. To be equipped with skills and knowledge in Chinese language an d cultur e wa s a feasible objective . Th e foremost exampl e wa s Robert Morriso n (1782-1834) , wh o wa s considere d "th e firs t reall y professional English sinologist."5 H e dubbed himself "an Anglo-Chinese."6 Of course, it was not to denationalize his British identity; rather, he wanted to sho w hi s sympatheti c attitud e toward Chines e to his wester n audience . He applie d hi s sinolog y fo r missionar y th e caus e throug h translatin g th e Bible and writing religious tracts. More importantly, he founded the AngloChinese Colleg e i n Malacca , an d contribute d generousl y t o it s library . I n 1823, the library holdings reached 3 380 volumes in which there were 2 850 Chinese titles . After a decade, its holdings increase d t o "severa l thousan d volumes" of which most were "scarce and valuable."7 Th e library suffice d the college a centre for "sedentar y scholar-missionaries " nurturing the firs t generation o f missionary-sinologists , wh o wer e abl e i n "bridgin g th e ga p between scholar-missionary and itinerant preacher."8 Notabl e ones included William Miln e (1785-1822) , Walte r H . Medhurs t (1796-1857) , Davi d Collie (d. 1828) , and Samuel Kidd (1804-1843). They promote d th e missionary caus e with the assistanc e o f Sinology . They translate d th e Bible , wrote religiou s tracts , an d edite d th e Chashisu Meiyue Tongjichuan, a periodical known as Chinese Monthly Magazine i n English, an d th e Indo-Chinese Gleaner. 9 O f th e enormou s amoun t o f religious tracts, 10 thos e compiled and written by Medhurst were especially noteworthy while he modified the way by which the religious message was presented. H e considere d tha t th e Chines e wer e prou d o f thei r cultura l heritage, therefore th e focus o f his tracts was to "appeal to the Chinese by portraying missionarie s a s scholar-teacher s simila r t o thos e i n Chines e traditions." I n doin g so , h e place d a n "increasin g emphasi s o n secula r subjects, suc h as history, geography an d matters of general interests in his writings."11 Furthermore , they translated popular texts and wrote sinological...

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