Jie jing shuo wen: a comparative Sinitic-Semitic lexicography, volume one
Language: English
Published by Ocabs Press, 2025
- Softcover
- New
Seller: GreatBookPricesUK, Woodford Green, United KingdomGreatBookPricesUK
AbeBooks seller since January 28, 2020
Condition: New
£ 25.08
Quantity: Over 20 available
Add to basketSeller Inventory # 52518250-n
- Title
- Jie jing shuo wen: a comparative Sinitic-Semitic lexicography, volume one
- Author
- Unknown, Unknown
- Publisher
- Ocabs Press
- Publication year
- 2025
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Soft cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1601910622
- ISBN 13
- 9781601910622
Jie Jing Shuo Wen: A Comparative Sinitic-Semitic Lexicography, Volume One by Matthew Franklin Cooper proposes a bold and methodologically disciplined reexamination of early Chinese Christian texts through the lens of comparative Semitic linguistics. Centered on the seventh-century mission of Aluoben and the linguistic world that made that mission intelligible, the book argues that certain classical Chinese terms used in early Christian discourse were not merely approximate translations of Syriac or Hebrew concepts but were selected because of deep functional and conceptual parallels between Sinitic characters and Semitic roots.
Drawing heavily on the Shuowen jiezi and the Erya, Cooper treats Chinese characters not as static ideograms but as semantic fields shaped by sound, usage, and ritual function. These fields are then placed into sustained comparison with Semitic triliteral roots, particularly from Hebrew and Syriac, allowing patterns of usage to emerge that transcend surface-level translation. For example, characters associated with hearing, writing, authority, instruction, and transmission are examined alongside Semitic roots such as ש-מ-ע (to hear/obey) and כ-ת-ב (to write/decree), revealing shared assumptions about how truth is received, preserved, and enacted.
The book situates this lexicographic work within the historical and literary context of the Tang dynasty, where religious discourse unfolded in a multilingual, multicultural environment shaped by Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and West Asian Christianity. Rather than framing Aluoben's project as a simple case of cultural accommodation, Cooper presents it as an intellectually rigorous interaction with Chinese linguistic categories that were already capable of bearing this weight. In this reading, early Chinese Christianity emerges not as a foreign imposition but as a dialogical tradition grounded in shared structures of literary function.
Volume One lays the theoretical and methodological foundation for this approach. It establishes principles for cross-linguistic comparison, cautions against anachronistic readings, and demonstrates how lexicography can function as a form of historical study. By focusing on words rather than doctrines, the book shows how concepts such as revelation, obedience, inscription, and teaching were negotiated at the level of language itself.
Ultimately, Jie Jing Shuo Wen invites readers to reconsider how sacred texts travel across cultures. It challenges modern assumptions about translation, arguing that fidelity is not achieved through lexical equivalence alone but through alignment of conceptual worlds. This first volume opens a path for future work that treats Sinitic and Semitic traditions not as isolated systems but as participants in a shared human effort to articulate function, authority, and the divine.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
GreatBookPricesUK
Woodford Green, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since January 28, 2020
Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
| Item | 10 to 27 business days | 10 to 30 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 15.00 | £ 15.00 |
Payment methods
Store description
GreatBookPrices.com is your top source for finding new books at the absolute lowest prices, guaranteed ! We offer big discounts - everyday - on millions of titles in virtually any category, from Architecture to Zoology -- and everything in between. Discover great deals and super-savings, on professional books, text book titles, the newest computer guides, or your favorite fiction authors. You'll find it all - at HUGE SAVINGS - at GreatBookPrices. Browse through our complete online product catalog today. Serving customers around the world for years, we help thousands find just the books they're looking for -- at incredibly low, bargain prices.…
Specialty
TradeBooksSeller's business information
Far Corner Europe Limited
19-20 Bourne Court, 19-20 Bourne Court
Woodford Green, United Kingdom IG8 8HD
Terms of sale
Company Name: GreatBookPricesUK
Legal Entity: Far Corner Europe Limited
Address: 19-20 Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green Essex, UK IG8 8HD
Registration #: 10691061, VAT GB307932304
Authorized representative: Danielle Hainsey
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to GreatBookPricesUK, Castle Donington, Derby, United Kingdom, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Our warehouses across the globe are fully operational without substantial delays. We are working hard and continue to overcome the daily challenges presented by COVID-19. There have been reports that delivery carriers are experiencing large delays resulting in longer than normal deliveries to customers. We would like to apologize in advance if your item arrives later than the expected delivery due date.
Internal processing of your order will take about 1-2 business days. Please allow an additional 4-14 business days for Royal Mail delivery.