Of Sinology and Identity

Pēteris Šmits (1869–1938)

Abstract

The Latvian scholar Pēteris Šmits represents a unique case in the national Sinologies of Europe, having been the only specialist of Chinese and Manchu studies in his home country during his lifetime. Unable to establish a sinological tradition, Šmits is far better known in Latvia for his studies in Baltic languages and folklore. Despite juggling two research careers in parallel, Šmits saw himself primarily as a Sinologist, and his dedication to studying China became the cornerstone of his identity. In this essay, I summarise Šmits’ contribution to scholarship on China during the three distinct periods of his life and work, in Beijing (1896–1899), Vladivostok (1899–1920), and Riga (1920–1938). Relying on Šmits’ thoughts and views found in his unpublished autobiography and other lesser-known sources, I also contemplate his position as a scholar of China through the various historical periods and regions he lived in, offering a reflection on the issues of cultural and professional alienation, common in the field of Chinese studies.

拉脫維亞學者彼得 · 施密特（Pēteris Šmits）在歐洲漢學領域中獨樹一幟，曾是拉脫維亞唯一的漢學和滿學專家。由於未能創建漢學機構，他對波羅的海語言和民俗的研究在拉脫維亞更為人知。儘管如此，施密特始終堅守漢學家的身份，對中華文化的深入研究成為其學術生涯的核心。本文回顧了施密特在北京（1896–1899）、海參崴（1899–1920）及裡加（1920–1938）三個階段的學術貢獻，並基於其未公開的自傳和其他資料，探討了他在不同歷史和地域背景下對中國問題的學術立場，並對漢學研究中的文化與專業分隔現象進行了反思。