Nor did they enjoy the firsthand experience of the previous generation of "China hands," many of whom had served in the country for years as diplomats or officials and whose enthusiasm for the humanist ideals they had encountered motivated them to pursue an otherwise neglected and esoteric field.
他們不像第一代「中國通」，以外交官或殖民官的經驗，成為漢學講座；而多半是基於對人文理想的絕大熱情，踽踽於這條清寂的冷門學問上。