EARLY CHINESE CONTACT WITH THE WEST

(16^TH- early 19^TH CENTURY) (CONT.)

INTELLECTUAL CONTACT

Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1610): an individual success story in China. His Classical Chinese language works Treatise on Friendship (Jiao-yu lun) and Western Memory techniques (Xi guo ji fa), were written between 1595 and 1596.

1715 Rites Controversy: debate between Vatican and missionaries "in the field" over the proper attitude that a Christian should adopt toward Confucian practices, particularly ancestor worship. The Pope eventually condemned all Chinese rituals, and Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722) expelled almost all Christian missionaries from China.

Voltaire (1694-1778): impressed with what he read of Chinese achievements. Qing emperor Qianlong (r.1736-1796) as a "philosopher king."

Chinoiserie as a movement swept Europe in mid-18th century.

By 1820's the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) was contending that "Oriental Civilizations,” particularly the Chinese people, had been passed over by the “World Spirit,” which Hegel believed was the spirit of individual freedom.

Matteo Ricci:

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/PictDisplay/Ricci_Matteo.html

The Kangxi Emperor:

http://www.chinapage.com/painting/kangxi2.html

Voltaire:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7308/portrt.jpg

Examples of Chinoiserie:

Furniture: http://www.faccents.com/chinoiserie-furniture.html