Sinosphere
Sinosphere is a grouping of countries and regions that are currently inhabited with a significant number of people of
Chinese descent or historically under
Chinese cultural influence. James C. Bennett, founder of , sees it as a network commonwealth between Chinese people around the world. Bennett envisages the Sinosphere is consisting of
China, and its overseas Chinese in
Hong Kong,
Taiwan,
Macau, and to some extent,
Singapore. One of the main unifying links is based the
Chinese language.
In
East Asian commentator circles, the term Chinese cultural sphere or
Chinese character cultural sphere is used interchangeably for Sinosphere but covering a broader definition.
Encyclopedia
Sinosphere is a grouping of countries and regions that are currently inhabited with a significant number of people of
Chinese descent or historically under
Chinese cultural influence. James C. Bennett, founder of , sees it as a network commonwealth between Chinese people around the world. Bennett envisages the Sinosphere is consisting of
China, and its overseas Chinese in
Hong Kong,
Taiwan,
Macau, and to some extent,
Singapore. One of the main unifying links is based the
Chinese language.
In
East Asian commentator circles, the term Chinese cultural sphere or
Chinese character cultural sphere is used interchangeably for Sinosphere but covering a broader definition. Chinese cultural sphere denotes a grouping of countries, regions, and people with
Chinese cultural legacies. This includes the Sinosphere under the Bennett definition plus countries that have extensive Chinese cultural heritage or are with significant Chinese populations in modern times, including
Japan,
Korea ,
Malaysia,
Thailand,
Vietnam, and
Singapore. In French, the term
le monde chinois is used for this concept.
Modern Origins: 1990s
The concept of Sinosphere, as a network commonwealth, predated the popularization of the modern idea of
Anglosphere in the English-speaking world, and developed largely independent of the Anglosphere. In the early post-Cold War period of the 1990s, economic reforms in
mainland China, coupled with recognition of the People's Republic of China as a rival government from the part of the Republic of China , increased economic and cultural exchanges between China and overseas Chinese itself, led to emergence of the concept of a network of Chinese people that transcend traditional national borders, political differences, and geographical distances.
Later on, this definition was broadened to include
East Asian countries that had historical heritage influenced by China, countries such as
Japan,
North Korea,
South Korea, and
Vietnam have increased their economic and cultural contacts with the Chinese-speaking communities in both breadth and scope.
Sometimes in East Asia the term Sinosphere is used to imply the concept of East Asian integration.
Defining characteristics
Bennett considers the Sinosphere is unified by first language ability in
Chinese. Asian commentators define the unifying factor as influence of traditional Chinese cultural beliefs, marked by
Confucianism,
Daoism,
Mahayana Buddhism, and the use of
Chinese characters as a major part of writing system .
Current Developments
The concept of Sinosphere seemed to undergo a setback with the
Asian financial crisis and the advent of the dotcom economies in 1997 and 1998. However, with China's membership in the
WTO and continuing economic development there are some repopularizations of the use of the term
Sinosphere.
The development of the Anglosphere provides an interesting contrast. The idea of a network commonwealth is common to both Sinosphere and Anglosphere, but the two visions were developed independently from each other. As of the first decade of the 21st century, the concept of the Anglosphere remains at large invisible among Asian commentators supportive of the Sinosphere. Among the few who have heard the concept, the common response is either derision or fear. Those who regard the Anglosphere with scorn take the route that regionalist consolidations will triumph over cultural affinities that are separated by geographical distances, and the Sinosphere is more consolidated on a geographical sense than the more dispersed Anglosphere, and also because they regard China's economic might will overtake the Anglosphere in the not too distant future. Detractors who see the Anglosphere as a threat to the Sinosphere regard the Anglosphere as a concept of Anglo-Saxon imperialism and haegemony, and translate the term into Chinese as ?????? in an attempt to evoke the memory over the historical Japanese concept of Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere during the World War II period. Some other commentators point out India is an Anglosphere member and it has the potential to overtake China in economic developments. Some also see the Anglosphere's flexible nature and civil society base as points of strengths that the Sinosphre lack and which will guarantee it will pose a serious competition against the Sinosphere.
Currently
Singapore,
Hong Kong, and
Japan are contested by both Anglosphere and Sinosphere proponents as under each respective sphere of influence. Singapore has 76% Chinese majority but its governmental, legal and business practice are more akin to English-speaking countries courtesy of its British colonial past. Hong Kong's position is similar to Singapore but its population is 98% Chinese and in Hong Kong, Chinese rather than English is commonly used as the daily communication medium. Japan has had ancient Chinese influence ever since the Taika Reform period, however, the Anglosphere has displaced China in influence from the time of Commodore Matthew Perry's visit in 1853.
See also
...
References
Developments, Exchanges, and Conflicts Between Eastern and Western Civilizations, Professor Lin Binye, East China Normal University, delivered 20 February 2002 at North Point Teachers Centre, Hong Kong
Chinese Cultural Sphere and the Use of Chinese Characters, Zhe Shiya, Lianhe Zaobao, 24 June 2004, Singapore
Export of Chinese Culture and Balance of Power in the World, Shinfeng, People's Daily, 28 March 2006, Beijing
Further reading
- Language variation: Papers on variation and change in the Sinosphere and in the Indosphere in honor of James A. Matisoff, David Bradley, Randy J. LaPolla and Boyd Michailovsky eds., pp. 113–144. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
