Sinophile
Someone with a strong interest in or love of Chinese people, culture, or history
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Sinophile is a person who demonstrates fondness or strong interest in China, Chinese culture, Chinese history,[1] Chinese politics,[2][3] or Chinese people.[4][5]
TraditionalChinese親華派/親華者
SimplifiedChinese亲华派/亲华者
Hanyu PinyinQīn huá pài/Qīn huá zhě
Hanyu PinyinQīn huá pài/Qīn huá zhě
| Sinophile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 親華派/親華者 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 亲华派/亲华者 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Qīn huá pài/Qīn huá zhě | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | thân Trung Quốc, thân Trung Hoa, thân Tàu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Nôm | 親中國, 親中華, 親艚 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable Sinophiles
Europe
France
- Louis XIV, a 17th-century French monarch whose Grand Trianon, spread of Chinoiserie, centennial new year bash, and Confucian translations were influenced by Chinese culture.[6]
- Voltaire, a 17th-century French philosopher who admired Chinese culture and Confucian thought.[7]
Germany
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a 17th-century German polymath who loved Chinese culture and studied many aspects of it.[8]
Italy
- Marco Polo (c. 1254–1324), Italian explorer who was one of the first Europeans to visit China and narrated about the nation in his travelogue, The Travels of Marco Polo[9]
- Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), Italian Jesuit who was the first to translate the Confucian classics into Latin and taught European science to the Emperor and the Chinese literati[10]
Russia
- Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907), Russian chemist and inventor[11]
- Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), Russian writer widely considered one of the world's greatest novelists[11]
Oceania
Australia
- Paul Keating (born 1944), Prime Minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996[12][13]
- Kevin Rudd (born 1957), Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and in 2013.[14][15][16] Rudd took up Chinese in college and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, but his Sinophile characterisation has been disputed.[17][18][19]
North America
United States
- Allen Iverson (born 1975), former NBA star basketball player who has expressed affinity for the country[20][21]
- Stephon Marbury (born 1977), former NBA star basketball player who joined the Beijing Ducks and has expressed affinity for the country[22][23]
- James Veneris (1922–2004), US soldier who defected to China after the Korean War and remained in the country expressing positive feelings until his death in 2004[24]
Asia
Thailand
- Sirindhorn (born 1955), Thai princess who has received awards in China for promoting friendship between the two countries[25][26]