Sinophile

This article is about the cultural affinity. For the fetish, see Asian fetish.

Not to be confused with Cinephilia.

A Sinophile is a person who demonstrates fondness or strong interest in China, Chinese culture, Chinese history,^[1] Chinese politics,^[2][3] and/or Chinese people.^[4][5]

Louis XIV, a 17th-century French monarch whose Grand Trianon, spread of Chinoiserie, centennial new year bash, and Confucian translations were influenced by Chinese culture

Sinophile
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	親華派/親華者
Simplified Chinese	亲华派/亲华者
Hanyu Pinyin	Qīn huá pài/Qīn huá zhě
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qīn huá pài/Qīn huá zhě Wu Romanization Chin1 Gho6 Pha5 (tɕʰin53 ɦo23 pʰʌ34) Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Tshîn-fà-phai / Tshîn-fà-chá Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Can1 Waa4 Paai3 / Can1 Waa4 Ze2 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Chhin-hôa-phài / Chhin-hôa-chiá Tâi-lô Tshin-huâ-phài / Tshin-huâ-tsiá
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	thân Trung Quốc, thân Trung Hoa, thân Tàu
Chữ Nôm	親中國, 親中華, 親艚
Japanese name
Kanji	支那贔屓（しなひいき）、シノファイル
Transcriptions Romanization Shina hīki, Shinofairu

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a 17th–18th century German polymath who made significant contributions in many areas of physics, logic, history, librarianship, and studied numerous aspects of Chinese culture

Notable Sinophiles

Europe

France

• Louis XIV, a 17th-century French monarch whose Grand Trianon, spread of Chinoiserie, centennial new year bash, and Confucian translations were influenced by Chinese culture.^[6]
• Voltaire, a 17th-century French philosopher who admired Chinese culture and Confucian thought.^[7]

Germany

• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a 17th-century German polymath who loved Chinese culture and studied many aspects of it.^[8]

Italy

• Marco Polo (c. 1254–1324), Italian explorer who was one of the first Europeans to visit China and narrated about the nation in his travelogue, The Travels of Marco Polo^[9]
• Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), Italian Jesuit who was the first to translate the Confucian classics into Latin and taught European science to the Emperor and the Chinese literati^[10]

Russia

• Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907), Russian chemist and inventor^[11]
• Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), Russian writer widely considered one of the world's greatest novelists^[11]

Oceania

Australia

• Paul Keating (born 1944), Prime Minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996^[12][13]
• Kevin Rudd (born 1957), Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and in 2013.^[14][15][16] His sinophile characterisation has been disputed.^[17][18][19]

North America

United States

• Allen Iverson (born 1975), former NBA star basketball player who has expressed affinity for the country^[20][21]
• Stephon Marbury (born 1977), former NBA star basketball player who joined the Beijing Ducks and has expressed affinity for the country^[22][23]
• James Veneris (1922–2004), US soldier who defected to China after the Korean War and remained in the country expressing positive feelings until his death in 2004^[24]

Asia

Thailand

• Sirindhorn (born 1955), Thai princess who has received awards in China for promoting friendship between the two countries^[25][26]