International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.3, 2025

 

 

Zhong Zhiqing

 

In Chinese Academia, it is often noted that Hellenic and Hebraic and cultures constitute foundational sources of Western civilization, though systematic studies on the relationship between these two cultures or civilizations remains relatively limited. By contrast, Western scholarship has produced a substantial body of research in this field, once dominated by dualistic models such as “Hebrew and Greek,” “Athens and Jerusalem,” or “the Bible and Homer.” In recent decades, scholars have increasingly sought to move beyond such binary frameworks through cross-cultural perspectives. This article examines the encounters, confrontations and interactions between the two civilizations from the perspectives of historical development, the translation and transmission of canonical texts, the mutual influence between the two cultures and the evolution of scholarly traditions. Special concern will be given to how Hebraic culture absorbed elements of Greek thought while simultaneously strove to preserve its own cultural traditions.