Enlightenment Views of China in Europe: A Historical Overview and Reflection

Author: Zhang Guogang, Wu Liwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: The period from the mid-17th century to the late 18th century in European history is commonly referred to as the "Enlightenment Era," a time that distinctly reflected the decline of ignorant religious authority and the rise of rationalism. It is traditionally marked by the French Revolution of 1789 as its endpoint. This period also coincides with a significant phase in the history of Sino-Western cultural exchange. After Jesuit missionaries had been in China for several years, they began introducing Chinese knowledge to Europe more extensively from the mid-17th century onward. Simultaneously, the ritual disputes, which were of great importance to the history of Catholicism's spread in China, erupted in the mid-17th century, further intensifying the Jesuits' motivation to promote China in Europe. This process continued until around 1775, when the Jesuit mission in China was dissolved. The Enlightenment Era and the initial Sino-Western encounter roughly overlap in time. So, do they also intersect in content, and do they clash in spirit? A Europe moving toward enlightenment and modern civilization encountered a China deliberately portrayed by Jesuits as ancient. It was as if two streams flowing in different directions had magically converged through a time tunnel—what waves would be stirred up? As a historical narrative, it is filled with colorful stories, and as a cultural phenomenon, it is particularly thought-provoking. The Jesuits were that extraordinary time tunnel, drawing upon their own specific purposes to trace back to the ancient history and culture of China and then transporting it to a European society advancing toward the future. The Chinese society from the Spring and Autumn period down to the Jesuits' time, though more vivid, was either criticized by the Jesuits as the opposite of ancient cultural essence or omitted behind their flowing sleeves. The role of the Jesuits in this cultural exchange and why they chose to transmit specific aspects of China to Europe have already been discussed in detail in From the Initial Sino-Western Encounter to the Ritual Controversies—Chinese and Western Cultural Exchange in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (by Zhang Guogang, People's Publishing House, 2003) and analyzed in depth in When Noah's Ark Met Shennong and Yan Di—Debates on Ancient Chinese History in Enlightenment Europe (by Wu Liwei, China Renmin University Press, 2005). Therefore, this book will not dwell on these topics further but will focus on the changing Europe as the stage, examining how Europeans in the midst of the "Enlightenment" upheaval reacted to these Chinese knowledge, which were both spatially and temporally distant. This book discusses the European view of China during the Enlightenment Era. The "view of China" should encompass two aspects: one is the image of China as the object of perception, and the other is the attitude and evaluation toward this object. During this period, the "China" seen by Europeans was primarily depicted by Jesuits, with some embellishments by other travelers, and the image of China remained relatively consistent from the 17th to the 18th century. However, over these hundred years, Europeans' attitudes toward the Chinese image they encountered varied from person to person and from time to time, meaning that the significance of China to Europe changed continuously, as Europe itself was evolving, with its cultural perspectives and values constantly shifting. This resulted in differences in the European view of China over time. But the principle of basing the view of China on one's own values and practical needs remains unchanged. Conversely, on this stage, China remained as a virgin, unaware of the world outside, allowing Europe to continuously draw inspiration from it and dance without rest. All these stories unfold with the pulse of European culture, with China being a silent and absent performer. On the surface, China appeared as the object of European perception, but ultimately, Europe barely recognized China, yet better understood itself through it. There is an interesting irony here. The only exception was the large-scale production of export goods from coastal China in the second half of the 18th century, which reflected the fusion based on cultural interaction. When European merchants demanded that Chinese craftsmen process furniture and utensils according to their provided designs, Western-style objects with Chinese cultural characteristics were created, adding a unique touch to the purely Europeanized Chinese culture. However, this phenomenon emerged relatively late and had a very limited impact, not being the main focus of this book. Since the Reformation, the church, which had long been the ruling force in European society, gradually lost its power. The entire society was subtly influenced by a tide of secularization, but overall, one significant outcome of the power struggle between the church and the monarchy since the late Middle Ages was not a win-or-lose situation but a compromise. "The church and the nobility lost almost all their political power but retained most of their social and economic privileges," and this compromise contributed to social unity and stability, making it acceptable to all parties. In the early 18th century, the social structures of European countries still reflected this characteristic. The church was a docile assistant to the state rather than an enemy, and religion remained the central topic of society. Therefore, Europe before 1740 was still an era dominated by religious issues, and all intellectual discussions were often conducted in the context of whether they were rational in a Christian sense. It wasn't until the mid-18th century that profound changes occurred across all fields, from social structure to philosophy and science. The alliance between clergy, nobility, and kings began to lose popular support, and in the realm of thought, intellectuals started confronting the shortcomings of society and launched a series of critiques while striving to articulate and establish a new social order. This meant that the religious rationality of ideas or discourse had given way to their political, economic, or moral rationality. The European interest in and attitude toward Chinese affairs also unfolded against this backdrop, and even the Jesuits who spread Chinese knowledge had to conform to this larger trend. This book is a grand and insightful work, extraordinary in its structure and depth. The tripartite framework stems from a comprehensive grasp of the theme and an analysis of historical events, while the detailed commentary on each chapter benefits from a broad understanding and deep insight into the history and culture of China and Europe. The fluent writing and sharp analysis arise from long-term reflection and in-depth thinking. Since the 1980s, the history of Sino-Western cultural exchange since the Age of Discovery has been a hot topic in academic research, and this book is a significant achievement in this field. While the perspective of this study has been touched upon by predecessors, its depth and precision set it apart. The Enlightenment Era in Europe was greatly influenced by Chinese thought, perhaps as an imaginative understanding of the "other," which European thinkers used to critique European civilization, such as Voltaire and Leibniz. However, later, with the rise of European culture, China became the "backward other." The changes within this dynamic are worth exploring deeply.