Foreign devils and philosophers : cultural encounters between the Chinese, the Dutch, and other Europeans, 1590-1800

Foreign Devils and Philosophers explores cultural interchanges between Europe and China during the first period of intensive contact. Based on rare Chinese and Western sources (especially in Dutch), it highlights the reciprocal dynamic of aversion and admiration. Foreign Devils and Philosophers: Cultural Encounters between the Chinese, the Dutch, and Other Europeans, 1590–1800 Copyright Contents Preface and Acknowledgements List of Contributors List of Illustrations 1 China, the Netherlands, Europe: Images, Interactions, Institutions and the Ideal of Global Cultural History 2 The Richest Country in the World: Dutch Knowledge of China and Cathay and How to Get There in the 1590s 3 Red-Haired Barbarians: The Dongxi Yangkao (1617) and its Portrayal of the Dutch in China 4 The Tartars in European Missionary Writings of the Seventeenth Century 5 Just Like Zhou: Chinese Visitors to the Netherlands (1597-1705) and Their Cultural Representation 6 Chinese Petitions to the Dutch East India Company: Gambling on Formosa 7 The "Unhappie Ruines" of Princess Mary ii's Lacquer Screen: Sir Constantijn Huygens's Plea to Preserve a Chinese Artefact, 1685-1686 8 A Chinese Philosopher in European Dress: The Review of the First Latin Translation of Confucius (1687) in the Philosophical Transactions and Its Preoccupation with Chinese Chronology 9 The Relational Network of Court Jesuits in Local Provinces: The Example of Tomás Pereira (1689-1690) 10 Jesuit Libraries in Beijing and China in the Perspective of the Communication between Europe and China in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 11 Curiosity and Authority: Images of Europeans at the Qing Court during the Kangxi and Yongzheng Reigns 12 The Origin of the Dutch Embassy to China in 1794 Appendices Index of names Index of places What was the cultural impact of early meetings between Chinese and Europeans? This book explores visual, literary, and scholarly representations of the Celestial Empire and Western countries against the backdrop of actual encounters. Based on rare Chinese and, correspondingly, European (especially Dutch) sources and archival documents, the volume covers a range of cultural expressions from the applied arts to philosophy. Special attention goes to the ideals and realities of trade and diplomacy of the Dutch East India Company in China. 'Foreign Devils and Philosophers' approaches global history from a cultural perspective and illuminates the reciprocal dynamic of aversion and admiration: Chinese and Westerners could appear as sages or savages in each other's eyes