Writing-Mediated Interaction Face-to-Face: Sinitic Brushtalk (漢文筆談) as an Age-Old Lingua-Cultural Practice in Premodern East Asian Cross-Border Communication

Abstract In Western societies, speaking is construed as an interactive social activity while writing widely perceived a solo or private endeavor. Such functional dichotomy did not apply to the “Sinographic Cosmopolis” in premodern East Asia, however. Based on selected documented examples of writing-mediated cross-border communication spanning over thousand years from Sui dynasty late Ming dynasty, this paper demonstrates that Hanzi 漢字, morphographic, non-phonographic script, was commonly used by literati classical Chinese Literary Sinitic engage “silent conversation” substitute for speech. Except “drifting” record co-constructed Korean maritime officials and “boat people,” all other featured Chinese–Japanese interaction. While synchronous written has been reported scholarly works Asian studies (published more languages than English languages), our knowledge no attempt made examine such interaction linguistic discourse-pragmatic point view. Writing-mediated enacted through brushtalk (漢文筆談) compatible with transactional interactional language functions early modern it most conducted using brush, ink, paper, but could also take place pointed object flat surface covered fluid substance like sand, finger-drawing water tea table, so forth. pattern appears be unparalleled regional lingua francas phonographic script Latin Arabic. To facilitate research into extent which script-specific morphographic sinograms, “morphographic hypothesis” proposed. The theoretical significance third even fourth known modality communication—after speech (tactile) sign language—will briefly discussed.