On the Authorship of an 18th Century French Writing：Montesquieu or Fréret

摘要

The long accepted view that Quelques remarques sur la Chine que j＇aytirées des conversations que j＇ay eües avec Mr. Ouanges was written byMontesquieu was challenged by Benitez and Volpilhac-Auger. However,their arguments are either groundless or implausible. This article aimsat restoring the authorship to Montesquieu mainly by demonstrating thatthey had misinterpreted Huang, Montesquieu, and their relation; theywere unfamiliar with the Chinese language; and their arguments on theasterisks in the writing at issue lacked substantial evidence.