Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds Hi, this is a course about The European Discovery of China. . We’ll talk about the huge changes that China experienced between the 13th and 17th centuries, and find out which aspects of Chinese culture impacted most on late medieval and early modern Europeans.
Skip to 0 minutes and 40 seconds My name is Dolors Folch and I’ve been teaching Chinese History at Pompeu Fabra University, in Barcelona, for the last 25 years. During the lectures we’ll draw on the vivid written accounts
Skip to 0 minutes and 52 seconds of the first European travelers to China: Marco Polo, the Iberian travelers, the Jesuits and the first diplomatic missions sent to China.
Skip to 1 minute and 12 seconds We’ll take advantage of fascinating illustrated sources, like maps, scrolls, and paintings, both Chinese and European, to track the changing image of the world that evolved during these centuries. And we’ll discover the objects, like silks and ceramics, that unveiled to the Europeans the existence of an incredible land of staggering wealth and unheard-of political organization.
Skip to 1 minute and 50 seconds By the end of the 16th century, the world was already becoming global. But why did the Europeans visit the East, while the Chinese didn’t visit the West? What made China so attractive to merchants, missionaries, and soldiers? Why did these visitors so wholeheartedly admire Chinese cities and Chinese bureaucracy? Why and how did Europeans construct the highly positive image of China that would persist until the 18th century? What influence did the Chinese model have on the early modern European world? And, last but not least, what was the real impact of this early European presence on the Chinese world?
Skip to 2 minutes and 45 seconds What these Western travelers saw, what they didn’t see, and what they decided to suppress, that’s the story that we’re going to unravel in this course.
Skip to 3 minutes and 19 seconds I’m delighted to share this fascinating topic with you. It has inspired my research for many years and I hope it will inspire you too. I’m sure we’ll have a great time together.
