F1510 China and Europe – Trade, Conflict, and Communication

For many centuries both China and Europe saw themselves as centers of the world and as the most highly developed civilizations. These world views (Eurocentric and Sinocentric) of course never conformed to reality. In this course on the history of the relations between China and Europe and their changing mutual images we will discover how these traditional views of the world evolved, in which ways they were contested and how they eventually collapsed. It probably is not necessary to repeat here the well-known truisms about the “Pacific Century”, the “Rise of East Asia” and so on, in order to justify the need to deepen our knowledge of China and to intensify contacts and communication. However, communication with Chinese counterparts is not taking place in neutral space and on a historical tabula rasa. Rather, communication is shaped (and burdened) by a long history of diplomatic and trade contacts, and of mutual cultural influences, but also by violent incursions of Western/European powers in China and Chinese resistance against foreign aggression and economic penetration. This history has to be taken into account when we deal with and think about China. The course is intended to portray important stages in the history of Sino-Western contacts from the times of the Han dynasty/the Roman age to the end of the twentieth century.

Learning objectives
followed a policy of political, economic and cultural isolation, a prejudice that still profoundly influences our understanding of China today. In fact, it can and should be shown that, time and again, China “has been energetically and enthusiastically engaged with the outside world, permitting, encouraging, and seeking the circulation of foreign goods and ideas.” (Waley-Cohen, 5) The motives and actions of the European states and other actors dealing with China will be analyzed. Furthermore, students will learn in what ways the historical experiences of Sino-European contacts and conflicts shaped their mutual imaging and how representations of these historical events were put into the service of political and economic interests and ideologies. At the end of the course, students should be able to demonstrate research skills that enable them to identify and explore historical questions, to find and evaluate relevant evidence, and to present their results in a convincing way.

Teaching methods
The course will be held in the form of a seminar, with student presentations on specific subjects and discussions. All participants are expected to read the relevant chapters of the introductory text (Waley-Cohen, Sextants of Beijing) as preparation for the sessions. For their individual or group presentations, students will also consult other relevant sources. Most of the material will be provided in digitalized form. There will also be five short in-class writing assignments on the topics discussed in the sessions.