Who Understands China in Poland? The Epistemological Debates on China and Study of China at the Sinology Department, Warsaw University

The meaning and significance of China is closely related to the concept of sinology, which takes China as its object of study. This project looks at the understanding of sinology in Poland against the background of the epistemological debates in the Western academia. It focuses on two periods; first it analyses 1950s and 1960s and second, the period after 1990. It examines the problem through the lenses of the Sinology (later abbreviated to sinology or Warsaw sinology) at the Warsaw University (later UW). The department was established in the academic year 1933/34, which makes it the oldest institution teaching sinology in Poland existing today. Moreover, it was the only sinological center in Poland for five decades. Therefore, the staff of the department was at a vantage point to contribute to the understanding of China and sinology among Poles.

The following outline of the project starts from the explanation of the main arguments of the both sides in the epistemological debate on sinology. This is followed by the overview of the understanding of sinology at the Warsaw sinology. This section partially covers findings presented in the forthcoming article (A. Rudakowska: forthcoming) as well as the elements of the new research and concludes with the comments on the gaps in the research on the topic.