China In The Eyes Of Europe

China Through European Eyes provides a reader's perspective on the conceptualisation of China by Europeans over the last 800 years. With annotated excerpts of their key China related writings by influential figures such as Voltaire, Ricci, Leibniz, Montesquieu, Marx, Weber, Hegel, Barthes and Kristeva, this collection brings together the visions and ideas of individuals who had a unique impact upon European culture. The views within range wildly as the authors wrestle with what sense to make of China's cultural and social difference to their lives in the West, conceptualising China as a place of threat, otherness, exoticism, but also inspiration.This important selection allows for comparison of perspectives across different times in Europe, allowing readers to map out continuities and evolutions of attitudes towards China. It shows that contemporary European attitudes towards China have deep roots. With an extensive introduction, full bibliography and widespread annotations on original texts, this book will be of interest to anyone engaged with the role of China in the world today, particularly those interested in how the crucial relationship between China and Europe developed over time.Related Link(s)

To the eyes of Europeans, far-distant China was long covered by a veil of mystery that not even Marco Polo and other great travellers succeeded in lifting. Only the industrial and commercial revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries allowed us to discover the history, the immense cultural riches and the vibrant life of the Celestial Empire. This volume, making use of previously neglected historical documents and pictures, retells the events that marked the complex relationship between the West and China until the fall of the Empire. The book takes a narrative- historical approach, but also fully presents the art and creativity of the Orient, including many masterpieces as evidence of China's inimitable culture and style.

Written by a hugely experienced team of international contributors from China, Europe and the US, this book takes an innovative and insightful look at one of the most important bilateral relationships in international relations this century.

China Revealed presents the history of the relationships between Europe and the Celestial Empire of classical antiquity, from the time when the caravans began to bring a divine fabric known as silk to the shores of the Mediterranean from the far-off, mysterious East, up to the fall of the Manchu dynasty in 1911. Through beautifully illustrated maps, ancient engravings, the first black-and-white pictures and color plates, this book describes the incredible experiences of those who ventured into distant Cathay, crossing the endless deserts of Asia and the treacherous oceans-the Franciscan monks who were the first to penetrate the Mongolian steppes, the merchants such as Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, the Portuguese sailors and Jesuit missionaries who became counsellors to the Son of the Heavens, and many more.

This unprecedented comparative study looks at the attitudes and citizens' perceptions of the EU in Asia, and, by 2009, has been undertaken in 12 research sites throughout Asia. In each locality, the project systematically assessed daily representations of the EU in reputable local news media, as well as the EU's imagery among the general public and the EU's vision among the national stakeholders and opinion leaders. Presenting the findings of this project, this book [i.e., v. 2] provides a systematic and detailed empirical insight into EU visibility in the public discourses of three Southeast Asian countries --Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines --