Journal of language and literature, ISSN 2078-0303, 2010, no. 3, str. 20-24. [COBISS.SI-ID 46036066] EPISTEMOLOGY AND ITS COLONIES – ON THE CULTURAL CONDITIONING OF COMPREHENSION 1 By Jana S. Rošker 2 ABSTRACT Contemporary theoretical streams in sinology and modern Chinese theoretical discourses have devoted increasing attention to investigating and comparing the substantial and methodological assumptions of the so-called "Eastern" and "Western" traditions. In spite of the complexity of these problems, the most important methodological condition for arriving at some reasonably valid conclusions will undoubtedly be satisfied if we consciously endeavour to preserve the characteristic structural blocks and observe the specific categorical laws of the cultural contexts being discussed. In recent years, it has become clear to most people that "Western epistemology" represents only one of many different forms of historically transmitted social models for the perception and interpretation of reality. Unfortunately, in current intercultural research, it is still common to project elements of the contents and forms of discourses which have been overshadowed by the dominant political (and thus also economic) power, upon the research object. Thus, the present article tries to expose some crucial issues, connected to these problems, to introduce some specific Chinese epistemological approaches to comprehension, and to propose some alternative ways of understanding beyond the limitations of individual, culturally conditioned modes of comprehension.