The French Language and the Making of Modern Chinese Intellectuals New Selves, New Worlds

Contents

Acknowledgments 

Chapter 1 Introduction

Sino-French educational development, 1860s-1940s

The “language question” in Sino-French educational development

New selves, new worlds, and modern Chinese intellectuals

Chapter 2 Tongwenguan-Arsenal Intellectuals

The Fuzhou Arsenal School and Chen Jitong’s French language acquisition

1. The arsenal school and “Confucian French”
2. Paris and “Parisian French”

The Tongwenguan schools and Lu Zhengxiang’s French studies

1. Shanghai Tongwenguan and the lexical approach
2. From Beijing to Saint Petersburg, and “diplomatic French”

Chapter 3 Jesuit Students

Ma Xiangbo and the evolution of Jesuit Francophone education

1. The development of Jesuit programs
2. Jesuit-produced textbooks

Zhang Ruogu and learning French at St. Ignace and l’Aurore

1. St. Ignace: en famille, language, and religion
2. L’Aurore: language, literature, and the theatre

Chapter 4 Étudiant-Ouvrier Generation

The work-study program and Li Jinfa’s linguistic development

1. Flawed language programs
2. Reading, milieux français, and Baudelaire

The higher education scheme and Shen Baoji’s engagement with French

1. Enhanced programs
2. Fort Saint-Irénée, self-governance, and Régnier

Chapter 5 New Worlds

Chen Jitong’s use of French and world civilization

1. Portraying China with l’esprit et le goût européens
2. Preaching to and among the French public

Zeng Pu’s translation of Victor Hugo and world literature

1. Becoming an independent, bilingual translator
2. Translating Hugo, translating humanity

Chapter 6 New Selves

Sheng Cheng’s self-realization and his family autobiography, Ma mère

1. Between the original “I” and the present “I”
2. The subject of death and the art of the journal intime

Li Jinfa’s self-identification and his poetry with “Francophone foreignness”

1. Becoming China’s Baudelaire
2. The literary expression of the self

Chapter 7 Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix

Index

Biography

 Vivienne Xiangwei Guo is a historian of modern China at King’s College London, UK. Her research focuses on the intellectual, political, and cultural history of modern China. Her most important publications include monographs Negotiating a Chinese Federation (2022) and Women and Politics in Wartime China, also published by Routledge (2018).