Sinology

[ sahy-nol-uh-jee, si- ]

noun

1. the study of the language, literature, history, customs, etc., of China.

Sinology

/ ˌsɪn-; ˌsaɪnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl; ˈsaɪnəˌlɒɡ; sɪ-; saɪˈnɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the study of Chinese history, language, culture, etc

Derived Forms

• Sinologue, noun
• Sinological, adjective
• Siˈnologist, noun

Other Words From

• Si·no·log·i·cal [sahyn-l-, oj, -i-k, uh, l, sin-], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sinology¹

1880–85; Sino- + -logy; compare French, German sinologie

Example Sentences

Before that, he studied Sinology and journalism in Munich; Xian, China; and Taipei, Taiwan.

From Washington Post

A lecturer in Sinology at the University of Leipzig recently told the Hong Kong activist Glacier Kwong that “his students from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China asked if they could drop his class, because they worried about being associated with the criticism others made of the Chinese Communist party in class”.

From The Guardian

“This great intellectual effort,” a reviewer for the Economist wrote, “has produced the most sparkling gem of modern Sinology . . . At the end of this three-volume study the reader can only conclude that the communist victory of 1949 was a tragedy for China.”

From Washington Post

Last year he was given the prestigious Tang Prize in Sinology for, the citation read, “his pioneering contributions in Confucian studies” and “establishing the field of Neo-Confucianism in the West.”

From New York Times

"Before World War II, a single professor could teach everything that Columbia expected a student to know about China; now he would pick up fragments of Sinology from 20 specialized scholars," the story explained.

From Time