The framework of sinology in the Soviet Bloc

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book includes five contributions that reconstruct the development of sinological studies as a field of scholarship in East and West Germany, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, and Romania. Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik describes the evolution of sinology in West and East Germany with respect to an array of complex geopolitical constellations. It argues that the history of German sinology should be analyzed not solely regarding the Cold War conflicts and animosities but also in reference to the problematic legacy of colonialism and politics of the Third Reich. The book explains the histories of specific German sinology centers, whose activities were as often determined by universities’ top-down strategies or some influential sinologists’ positions and approach as by state directives. It investigates the international framework for research on modern China within the Eastern Bloc.