Most of the earliest sinologists were amateurs, including many missionaries. Matteo Ricci was probably the first great sinologist. He could write "The True Meaning of God" in authentic classical Chinese. ”, translated “Elements of Geometry”. By the 20th century, many sinologists were still proficient in Chinese and followed the Qianjia scholars' approach of "literacy must first be read before reading", such as Copenhagen from Sweden, Pelliot and Marble from France, Wilhelm Wheaton from Germany, and American Mou Fuli. They all have what we call "the foundation of Chinese studies" to some extent.
Since World War II, Chinese studies have gradually become academic in the West, and the United States has developed fastest with its abundant resources. However, it is too late to start learning Chinese after entering college, so these sinologists are often not as good at writing as the older generation of amateurs. By the 1950s and 1960s, academic Chinese studies focused on social science methods and deliberately broke away from the Sinology tradition that emphasized language proficiency; instead, all-encompassing Sinology was regarded as a grocery store that lacked subject specialization. This is also an important reason why the development of overseas Sinology has declined and even become deformed. The lack of clear subject classification is another important feature of the current situation of overseas Sinology - it is difficult for Chinese culture to be integrated into Western disciplines for a while. Whether there is a so-called philosophy in China is still debated; China has a long history, but the debate about Chinese historiography It has also been around for a long time, so it cannot be officially admitted to the history department; Chinese literature was not reluctantly linked to Western literature until comparative literature came into being. Therefore, if you want to go to Harvard University to study for a PhD in Chinese literature, history, philosophy, religion and other subjects, you can only enter the Department of East Asian Civilizations. Some of the resulting prejudices and misunderstandings are inevitable, which brings more obstacles to the mutual exchange and understanding of Chinese and Western cultures.