Interdisciplinary Textual Research on Ming and Qing Sources. Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2003. X + 606 p. (Sinica Leidensia)*

The work of the Italian sinologist P. Santangelo is an attempt to cross-branch comparison of Chinese and European traditions in such a delicate field as psychology, and the sinological material is borrowed from Chinese classical literature. As stated in the introduction, this is "an interdisciplinary study of emotions and states of mind in selected Chinese sources of a certain historical period" (p. 1). It is not surprising that in such a work Sinology looks like auxiliary material for psychological research. "The aim of this project is to recreate fragments of the mental representation of 'private life' in late imperial China" (p. 7).

In this review, there are no claims to analyze the psychological or linguistic significance of this interdisciplinary study, since our interest is limited to its synological foundation. Research in the field of psychology and linguistics will certainly be evaluated by competent specialists, especially since this is not a completed work, but the first part of an extensive plan: "The culmination of the research project will be the Encyclopedia of Emotions and States of Mind in Minsk and Qing literary and Non-literary Sources, which will be a useful tool not only for historical research and literary analysis, but also for lexicographic purposes" (p. 7).

The Encyclopedia of Emotions announced in the introduction remains a work of the future, and this volume is divided into two parts, with the division running through almost all of its sections: European tradition and Chinese literary material. The book contains an abundance of material from European psychological science, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.Each section, for example, "The love-desire-Hope Complex", begins with "Terminology and Definitions", where the works of modern psychologists are faithfully collected, and the author is armed with material for comparison. This is followed by a sinological section based on the original Chinese material.

The greatest value of the book is precisely the richness and breadth of the Chinese sources used in it. The title indicates that the main attention was paid to the literary monuments of the Ming and Qing dynasties, but in fact the Chinese tradition is much more widely represented here. The author freely quotes both ancient philosophical treatises and poems of Tang and Sung poets, and the late classics are used extremely widely-from essays in the literary language of Wenyan to novels and novels in the colloquial language of Baihua.

In addition to the original sources, the author is well versed in modern sinological literature, not only European, but also Japanese. There is no doubt that the works of Chinese specialists are most fully represented.

One gets the impression that it was precisely the fluency of sources and literature that prompted the researcher to use literary material in the field of psychological research, which currently remains at the stage of preliminary considerations and very preliminary conclusions. The author explicitly acknowledges the incompleteness of his work: "Fundamental questions still remain about how emotions were represented, evaluated, and understood in the Minsk and Qing societies; what images were used to describe passions; what practical compromises were made between the energy of individual appetites and social mechanisms of repression and coercion; and how impulses and ambitions were cultivated in the reconciliation process a strict ethical code with the dynamics of social change" (p. 104).

Increased attention to the social aspect gives the study credibility. There is no doubt about the knowledge of literary material and the analysis of the literature used-

* P. Santangelo. The history of sentimental education in China. Interdisciplinary research on the sources of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Leiden-Boston: Bril, 2003. X+606 p. (Sinica Leidencia).

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information sources. Comparison with the European tradition is done very carefully with careful handling of terminology. The author carefully seeks to identify discrepancies in the understanding of the most general terms, such as "love" and "friendship", in the European tradition and in the society of late imperial China. The weakness of the presented work, of course, lies in its incompleteness.

Many sections of the book detailing common points in both the European and Chinese traditions leave the impression of banality, as they repeat the results of previous research. For example, we don't learn anything new about Confucianism, neo-Confucianism, or Taoism in our work in the psychological sphere. This volume presents "categorization of emotions in the West and China, and a preliminary review of Chinese word usage of emotional terms, preceded by the Dictionary of English terminology" (p. 455).

The author acknowledges that some problems remain unresolved, and notes that the main difficulties are concentrated on definitions and classification (ibid.). In this paper, literary sources are not the subject of analysis, but only auxiliary material for studying the emotional world of the Chinese during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The author writes: "In any case, literature as a whole remains the main historical source of information about the evolution of ideas about emotions, not only as a mediated expression of the individual and collective unconscious, but also as a vehicle for positive and negative affective models and semantic codes that form the foundations of emotions and passions" (p.53).

The author demonstrates an excellent command of the materials of Chinese literature, but in his conclusions shows sound modesty, recognizing the leading role of the European tradition in modern scientific research: "If we compare Chinese literature with European literature, it becomes clear that the latter has developed a more powerful rhetorical function in the sphere of feelings "(ibid.).

A synopsis of the European scientific tradition from antiquity to the present day, I think, would be appropriate in popularizing work, and not in scientific research, from which you expect a new word about the previously unknown. Of course, it is always useful to read a summary of the latest research on the topic, but this is clearly not enough.

In his preliminary conclusions (p. 453), the author points out that the "Encyclopedia of Emotions" he is creating will be useful only after completing the entire work. This volume presents only a sample of partial results of the study and sets out its criteria and theoretical principles. So far, "it is impossible to make a complete scheme of emotions and their definitions based on Chinese representation and everyday life" (p.454). The author hopes that the "Encyclopedia of Emotions" he created will contribute to historical research of Chinese society. It is curious that such an interesting point as public control over individual passions is particularly noted. In general, emotions in work are declared as a social phenomenon.

Despite the incompleteness of the project as a whole, the author already draws preliminary far-reaching conclusions that Chinese traditional culture is, according to Nietzsche, "fundamentally Apollonian" within the Dionysian-Apollonian contrast (p.463). Here the main conclusion is made: "Despite its fundamental moralism, the Chinese approach is situational and pragmatic, and not absolutized and ideologized, as in monotheistic cultures" (p. 464).

I would especially like to mention the excellent edition of the book with font abundance and language diversity. In addition to English, the text includes a modern Chinese transcription in Latin script, which is often followed by the original Chinese hieroglyphic text. The sinologist gets a rare opportunity to read the book with complete confidence, because on the same page the translation proposed by the author is compared with the Chinese original and there is no need to specify the meaning in library searches. In sinology, disagreements over translation and interpretation are not just common, but they dominate the consensus.

The extensive bibliography (pp. 468-533) is divided into two unequal sections: sources and tools, a relatively small one, and an extensive section under the general title "essays".

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If everything is clear in the sources: this is Chinese literature, mostly original, although in reprint editions, then the essay section presents an unprecedented mix for Chinese studies. In alphabetical order, without any thematic classification, Chinese and Japanese books and articles are listed, as well as European and American literature, and not only sinological literature.

The reviewed work is undoubtedly sinological in its material, and ends with a glossary (pp. 534-593) of Chinese emotional terms, which will be necessary for all students of Chinese literature. The glossary is remarkable because it combines the positive qualities of Chinese explanatory dictionaries, which since the Kangxi era are equipped with quotations with their translation into English, which is very convenient for any user.

To date, any conclusions on the reviewed work cannot be final, but we can only hope that the work on the "Encyclopedia of Emotions" will be completed, since the prerequisites for this are obvious.

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