Attilio ANDREINI

11. CURRICULUM VITAE

1. Personal Information

Name: Attilio Andreini
Date of Birth: June 8, 1967
Place of Birth: Prato, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Current Position: Full Professor of Chinese Language and Literature (Classical Chinese)
Affiliation: Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Office Address: Palazzo Vendramin dei Carmini, Dorsoduro 3462, 30123 Venice, Italy
Phone: +39 041-2349519 (office)
Email: attilio@unive.it
ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2985-3202
Website: Profile

2. Education

PhD in Oriental Studies
Institution: Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples, Italy
Completion Year: 1999
Thesis Title: Interpretation of the Thought of Yang Zhu through Pre-Han Sources
Research Achievements:
Extensive fieldwork at Beijing University, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Hong Kong Universities (HKU and Chinese University of HK).
Pioneered intertextual and philological approaches in early Chinese philosophical texts.
Bachelor's Degree in Chinese Language and Literature
Institution: Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Completion Year: 1994, 110/110 cum laude
Scholarship: PRC Scholarship for a year-long research stay at Beijing University.

3. Current Position(s)

Full Professor of Chinese Language and Literature (Classical Chinese)
Institution: Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Start Date: August 1, 2019
Responsibilities:
Teaching Classical Chinese.
Research on early Chinese manuscripts and pre-imperial textual traditions.
Supervising doctoral candidates.
Coordinating international research projects and collaborations on early Chinese manuscript studies.
Coordinator of the “Classical Chinese track” within the Princeton-Ca’ Foscari Summer School in Classical Chinese and Japanese (link).

4. Previous Positions

Associate Professor, Ca' Foscari University of Venice (2005–2019)
Development and implementation of interdisciplinary courses in classical Chinese literature and philosophy.
Supervision and cutting-edge research in Chinese codicology and the transmission of ancient texts.
Lecturer in Chinese Language and Literature, Ca' Foscari University (2001–2005)
Introduction of new pedagogical approaches combining syntactic analysis with hermeneutics.
Non-Tenured Professor of Sinology, Ca' Foscari University and University of Turin (1998–2001).
Teaching of courses on classical Chinese philosophy and literature with a focus on textual analysis.
Visiting Professor
Capital Normal University, Beijing (2012–2013).
Peking University (2013).
Academy of Fine Arts, Shijiazhuang, China (2013).
University of Turin (2012-2016)
University of Bologna (2024-2025)

5. Fellowships and Awards

Japan Foundation Scholarship (1998): Advanced research on the linguistic and cultural interactions between Chinese and Japanese traditions.
Chinese Government Scholarship (1994–1995): Research fellowship for studying early Chinese manuscripts at Beijing University.
Honored by multiple Chinese institutions for contributions to Sinology and manuscript studies.
RESEARCH FUNDING AND PROJECTS

1. Tanatomorfosi. Il corpo dopo la morte nelle prospettive delle civiltà dell'Asia meridionale e dell'Estremo Oriente / Thanatomorphosis: The Post-Mortem Body in the Perspectives of South Asian and Far Eastern Civilizations

◦                      Role: Participant in the Research Program

◦                      Coordinators: Francesco Remotti and Gian Giuseppe Filippi

◦                      Sponsoring Institution: Italian Ministry of University and Research

◦                      Project Duration: 24 months (starting December 16, 2002)

◦                      Description: A project investigating anthropological and religious perspectives on the human body after death, focusing on the rituals and memory related to the body in Asian civilizations.

2. Il testo in Asia Orientale: supporti materiali, lessico e scrittura ieri e oggi / The Text in East Asia: Material Supports, Lexicon, and Writing from Past to Present

◦                      Role: Participant in the Research Program

◦                      Coordinator: Guido Samarani

◦                      Sponsoring Institution: Italian Ministry of University and Research

◦                      Project Duration: 24 months (starting November 20, 2003)

◦                      Description: Focused on the material and linguistic aspects of textual transmission in East Asia, this project explored historical and contemporary uses of writing and textual media.

3. Una diversa ermeneutica dell'alterità: processi di interazione fra i sistemi religiosi dell'Asia Orientale / A Novel Hermeneutics of Otherness: Processes of Interaction Among East Asian Religious Systems

◦                      Role: Participant in the Research Program

◦                      Coordinators: Francesco Remotti and Massimo Raveri

◦                      Sponsoring Institution: Italian Ministry of University and Research

◦                      Project Duration: 24 months (starting November 30, 2004)

◦                      Description: Aimed at examining processes of interaction and interpretation between the religious systems of East Asia, this project contributed to a new understanding of alterity and intercultural dynamics.

4. Finanziamento delle attività base di ricerca / Funding for Foundational Research Activities (2017)

◦                      Role: Participant in the Research Program

◦                      Sponsoring Institution: Italian Ministry of University and Research

◦                      Project Duration: 36 months

◦                      Description: Funding reserved for associate professors and full-time researchers at state universities to conduct fundamental research activities.

5. Classica Serica. The Language and Literary Characteristics of East Asian Latin and the Impact of Classical Texts on Latin Texts of Eastern Asia between Medieval and Early Modern Age

◦                      Role: Participant in the Research Program

◦                      Coordinator: Andrea Balbo, Tiziana Lippiello

◦                      Sponsoring Institution: Italian Ministry of University and Research

◦                      Project Duration: 24 months (ERC Sector SH5, starting 2022)

◦                      Description: This project explores the linguistic and literary impact of classical Latin texts on East Asia during the Medieval and Early Modern periods, focusing on the transmission of knowledge and cultural exchange.

6. Supervision of Graduate Students; PhD/PostDoc Students

Supervision of 8 doctoral theses:

·       Elisa Sabattini (awarded in 2006), I significati di yue/le nel Xunzi: un approccio filosofico (joint supervision with INALCO, co-supervisor Anne Cheng).

·       Veronica Lombardi (awarded in 2005), Valenze di qing nel Zhuangzi.

·       Luca Vantaggiato (awarded in 2011), Per natura siam vicini: analisi del manoscritto "Xing zi ming chu" rinvenuto a Guodian.

·       Michele Mannoni (awarded in 2014), Prospettive di Linguistica Forense Cinese: Fonetica del cinese regionale, traduzione giuridica con approccio semiotico e contrattualistica.

·       Arianna Magnani (awarded in 2019), Gewu bu qiu ren, un’enciclopedia popolare cinese nella biblioteca dei Gesuiti a Genova: un caso studio nella dinamica dei rapporti tra Europa e Cina in età barocca.

·       Michele Pulini (ongoing), provisional title: *Old Chinese Morphology and Cognates through Excavated Warring States Sources: a Study of the Cao Mo zhi zhen 曹沫之陳 Manuscripts.

·       Mirko Bergamini (ongoing), La scrittura dell’unità: strategie per l’unificazione politica e burocratica durante la prima fase imperiale cinese.

·       Maria Electra Pacini (ongoing), The long reception history of the Śālistambasūtra– with the contemporary environmental crisis.

Coordinator of the PhD Program in Languages and Civilizations of Asia and North Africa (2010–2012) at Ca’ Foscari University.

7. Teaching Activitiess

·  Coordinator of the Classical Chinese Track within the Princeton-Ca’ Foscari Summer School in Classical Chinese and Japanese.

·  Authored widely used teaching materials, including:

·       Grammatica della lingua cinese classica (Hoepli, 2020).

·       Corso di lingua cinese classica e letteraria (Hoepli, 2022).

·  Designed innovative multidisciplinary courses integrating philology, manuscript studies, and hermeneutics.

·  Taught Classical Chinese at various Italian universities:

·       Turin (2012–2016, 60 hours per year: 30 hours for BA courses and 30 hours for MA courses).

·       Bologna (Spring semester 2025, 60 hours, BA).

·  Invited to deliver seminars on Classical Chinese language and Chinese thought at the following foreign universities:

·       Geneva (June 2007, 8 hours).

·       Prague (April 2015, 15 hours).

·       Vienna (March 2022, 20 hours).

8. Organisation of Scientific Meetings

Organized major international conferences on early Chinese studies, including:
Riflessioni sulla variantistica nei testi estremo orientali. Esperienze di critica testuale a confronto / Reflections on Textual Variants in Far Eastern Manuscripts: A Comparative Study of Textual Criticism Approaches (organized in collaboration with prof. Laura Moretti, Venezia, May 29-30, 2008) at Ca' Foscari University
Contemporary Perspectives on Chinese Philosophy (Venezia, October 27-28, 2011) at Ca' Foscari University
Beauty and Virtue in Chinese Philosophy (Venezia, March 25-27, 2015) at Ca' Foscari University
XVII Conference of the Italian Association for Chinese Studies (AISC), Ca' Foscari University, Venice, September 5–7, 2019, together with Prof. Federica Passi (editor of the conference proceedings).
 

9. Institutional Responsibilities

General Secretary, Italian Association for Chinese Studies (2012–2015).
Secretary, European Association for the Study of Chinese Manuscripts (2017–2021).
Member of the board for PhD program development in East Asian Studies at Ca' Foscari University.

10. Reviewing and Editorial Activities

Reviewer: High-impact journals such as Asiatische Studien, Dao, Early China, and T’oung Pao.
Boards and Committees
Editorial Boards

Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale (link).
Sinica Venetiana (link).
Bibliotheca Trimalchionis Tertia: Studi filologici e letterari sull’Asia e sull’Africa (link).
Quodlibet: Orienti. Studi, ricerche e materiali sugli universi cinesi (link).
Advisory Board member of the Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies.

11. Memberships of Scientific Societies

European Association of Chinese Studies (EACS).
European Association of Chinese Linguistics (EACL).
Italian Association for Chinese Studies (Associazione Italiana Studi Cinesi AISC).
Founding member of the European Association for the Study of Chinese Manuscripts (EASCM).

12. Major Collaborations

Collaboration with Princeton University, specifically with Professor Martin Kern, in organizing a Summer School in Classical Chinese, hosted annually by Ca' Foscari University. This program attracts students and scholars from around the world.
Together with Professor Kern (Princeton University) and several colleagues at Ca’ Foscari, I co-direct a project aimed at developing systematic tools for both research and teaching in Classical Chinese. This project involves the publication in English of the Grammatica della lingua cinese classica (Hoepli, 2020, co-authored with Maurizio Scarpari) and the Corso di lingua cinese classica e letteraria (Hoepli, 2022, co-authored with Maurizio Scarpari and Giulia Baccini). Both volumes will soon be published by Brill.
Participation in the research group led by Professor Richard King (University of Bern), dedicated to the translation and study of Classical Chinese texts, as well as to the organization of workshops and the publication of volumes exploring specific aspects of ancient Chinese thought.
Collaboration with colleague Andrea Balbo (University of Turin) on the transmission of knowledge and cultural exchange between Europe and China in the premodern world, with a particular focus on the study of Jesuits and classical Chinese literary sources.

12. TRACK RECORDS

TRACK RECORDS

My academic and professional career spans over two decades of dedicated research and teaching in Classical Chinese language, literature, and philosophy, making me an ideal candidate to undertake the proposed project on the rhetoric of war in early Chinese texts. As a Full Professor of Classical Chinese Language and Literature at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, my expertise bridges linguistic, historical, and philosophical analyses, with a particular focus on pre-imperial textual traditions and manuscript studies.

A foundational milestone in my academic career was the scompletion of a PhD in Oriental Studies at the Istituto Universitario Orientale in Naples (1999). My dissertation on the thought of Yang Zhu introduced innovative intertextual and philological methodologies for analyzing early Chinese philosophical texts, providing a foundation for my subsequent research on the textual and rhetorical structures of Classical Chinese literature. My academic trajectory, including internationally recognized publications and active participation in major conferences, led to my appointments as Lecturer and later Associate Professor at Ca’ Foscari University. The combination of these experiences has enabled me to further refine and integrate these methodologies into both my teaching and research endeavors.

Key research contributions include:

Analysis of early Chinese manuscript traditions, emphasizing the philological and material aspects of textual transmission.
Groundbreaking studies on the rhetoric of warfare in early Chinese philosophy, demonstrating how war permeates classical texts and shapes their philosophical narratives.
Collaborative projects with international scholars, such as Professor Martin Kern (Princeton University), focusing on systematic tools for teaching and research in Classical Chinese language.
I have secured funding and participated in significant projects, including Classica Serica, examining the impact of Latin texts on East Asia, and projects funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, addressing textuality and religious systems in East Asia. My role in these initiatives underscores my capability in managing interdisciplinary research teams and delivering high-impact results.

As an author, my publications include Grammatica della lingua cinese classica (Hoepli, 2020) and Corso di lingua cinese classica e letteraria (Hoepli, 2022), both of which will soon be published in English by Brill. These works are widely adopted in academic curricula. My articles, published in leading journals and prestigious collective volumes, reflect my continuous contributions to understanding the interplay between philosophy, philology, and rhetoric in Classical Chinese texts. I have also translated both the Sunzi Bingfa (Master Sun’s Art of War) and the Laozi Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) for Einaudi, one of the most prestigious Italian publishing houses, significantly contributing to the dissemination of Chinese thought among both specialists and a broader, non-academic audience.

My experience in organizing and leading international conferences further highlights my ability to foster scholarly dialogue. Events like Reflections on Textual Variants in Far Eastern Manuscripts and Contemporary Perspectives on Chinese Philosophy have been instrumental in advancing the field. Additionally, my editorial roles and memberships in scientific societies position me as a scholar who has consistently sought and established robust dialogue with the most authoritative colleagues in the Sinological community.

These accomplishments, combined with my linguistic expertise and deep familiarity with the rhetorical and philosophical dimensions of warfare in early Chinese texts, make me remarkably suited to lead this project.

DESCRIPTION OF MAIN RESEARCH RESULTS

My research primarily investigates the intersection of hermeneutics, rhetoric, philology, and textual transmission in early Chinese literature, and I have already conducted extensive research on how the theme of war shapes classical texts. Accordingly, this project builds upon a robust foundation of preliminary research centered on the analysis of pre-imperial manuscripts and the philosophical discourse on warfare in early China.

One key result of my work is the identification of rhetorical strategies employed in Classical Chinese texts to frame war not merely as a historical phenomenon but as a pervasive philosophical and rhetorical trope. My analysis of texts such as Master Sun’s Art of War has initiated an investigation that, with this project, I aim to extend to the entire corpus of military texts and other works, both transmitted and manuscript, that address the theme of war either directly or indirectly. The objective is to highlight how these works employ specific rhetorical devices to justify or critique war as a tool for governance and to meet moral and cosmic order imperatives.

My research has also shed light on the materiality of early Chinese manuscripts, uncovering how textual variants and transmission processes reflect evolving attitudes toward warfare. For example, my study of bamboo and silk manuscripts has revealed the adaptation of war-related narratives to different sociopolitical contexts, underscoring the fluidity of rhetorical strategies in early China.

Through collaborations with scholars like Prof. Andrea Balbo (University of Turin), I have extended these inquiries to explore the broader intercultural dimensions of the transmission of knowledge, focusing on Jesuit interpretations of Chinese sources. This cross-disciplinary approach has enriched our understanding of how Chinese classics were contextualized and transformed in European intellectual traditions.

My expertise in Classical Chinese language, philology, and philosophy guarantees a comprehensive and in-depth approach to textual analysis. Furthermore, my contributions to the development and systematization of effective teaching methodologies, including co-authoring widely recognized textbooks, have established a new framework for the study of Classical Chinese language and literature. This distinctive combination of philological insight, philosophical depth, and a cross-cultural perspective position me to achieve significant and impactful outcomes for the proposed project.

13. Conferences, Lectures, and Seminars

Europe: France (INALCO, Université Paris Diderot), Germany (University of Hamburg, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg), Switzerland (University of Geneva, Zurich, Bern), Netherlands (University of Leiden), Belgium (KU Leuven), Czech Republic (Charles University Prague), Austria (University of Vienna).

United Kingdom: University of Cambridge.

USA: University of Chicago, University of Hawai’i, Dartmouth College.

Canada: University of British Columbia (Vancouver).

PRC: (Tsinghua University 清華大學, Peking University 北京大學, Academy of Fine Arts, Shijiazhuang)

Japan: (University of Yamanashi 山梨大學), Singapore (Yale-NUS College)

Israel: University of Jerusalem.