Chronica - Fifty Years of Eastern Asiatic Studies in Hungary [antikvár]

Acta Orient-Mux Academi^teScAentuiriimHungarirae,Tomus XXVIII (S),pp.39S-394 (1974) CHRONICA FIFTY YEARS OF EASTERN ASIATIC STUDIES IN HUNGARY On the 6th of February a scholarly session was held at the Philosophical Faculty of the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Chair for Chinese and Eastern Asiatic Studies. B. Csongor, the holder of the chair gave in his introductory speech a summary of studies concerning East Asia in Hungary. Chinese and Japanese studies were first introduced into Hungary by the creation of a chair which was established in February 1924. Its first holder was W. Pröhle (1924— 1942), but it was only under L. Ligeti (who, beside holding a Chair for Central Asiatic Studies became acting professor at the chair 1942—1962) that active cultivation of Chinese studies began on a scholarly level. In World War II the building in which the chair was housed, was destroyed. After the liberation of Hungary the library of the chair became reorganized. From the early fifties, owing to the establishment of diplomatic and cultural relations between Hungary and the People's Republic of China, the activity of the chair obtained a new impetus; the teaching of modern Chinese was started in a systematic way. It was in those years that the name of the chair (formerly Chair for Eastern Asiatic Studies) was changed into its present form. In 1958, after a sixteen years' interruption, the teaching of Japanese was resumed. About the same date the personnel of the chair was strengthened by two scholars graduated in Peking. From the early seventies Korean linguistic studies were started too. Efforts have been made to bring up Japanese studies to a scholarly level. Since 1942, thirty-seven students were immatriculated at the philosophical faculty to study Sinology. Eighteen of them obtained graduation. Out of these there are seven who pursue scholarly activities, six others are engaged in activities requiring command of Chinese and knowledge about China. Among those engaged in Sinology, one is now a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, one is a candidate of linguistics, three were conferred doctor's degree by the faculty. The field of the Hungarian Sinologists' scholarly activities embraced historical phonetics of Middle Chinese and Ancient Mandarin, interaction between Chinese and theoretical linguistics, the problem of parts of speech in Chinese language, the state of land ownership in Chinese antiquity, theoretical problems of Chinese history connected with the Asiatic mode of production, main currents of Chou-Han time Chinese philosophy and their historical role, the formation of Chinese state, the economic basis ofthe relations between China and the nomads, old Chinese astronomy as a reflection of world concept, the function and place of commerce in imperial China, Tanguts in Chinese historiography, theoretical problems of classical Chinese aesthetics, classical Chinese novels as sources for historical research, the China policy of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the literary and political activity of Lu Hsun, Hungarian literature in China. In the field of Japanese studies, some research has been done into kambun literatiu-e, Korean studies are repre- Acla OrietU. Hntig. XXVIII. 1974.