China in European Encyclopaedias, 1700-1850

"European knowledge on China was the product of a series of transmissions and transformations," states Lehner (modern history, U. of Vienna, Austria), and he explains that this in-depth study explores "...how English, French, and German encyclopaedias dealt with things Chinese, how European knowledge on China evolved throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and how it found its place in general encyclopaedias." This investigation complements previous studies of travelogues, missionary writings, collections of letters, and other types of accounts. Material is organized in chapters on the encyclopedias themselves, the formation of knowledge on China in Europe, geography, population and society, government and politics, history, language and literature, philosophy and religion, and arts, sciences, and technologies. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Georg Lehner, Ph. D. (1995) in History, University of Vienna, Austria, teaches Modern History at the University of Vienna. His research and publications focus on the history of Sino-Western relations and on European conceptions of China.