China in the German Enlightenment

‘The volume as a whole and each individual essay will inspire future scholarly interest in the German reception of China.’

Weijia Li, Monatshefte

‘The book collects eight remarkably coherent essays by historians, philosophers, and Germanists… After reading these well-crafted essays, we cannot help feeling the gratification afforded by new historical knowledge.’

Chenxi Tang, The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory

"This collection of essays by both older and newer voices in Asian-German studies does an excellent job of illuminating both ‘the problem of China’ and ‘the problem of Europe’ from the seventeenth century to the twenty-first. It will undoubtedly spur on new and, hopefully, equally productive responses."

Nicolas A. Germana, University of Toronto Quarterly

"Brandt and Purdy assemble in this volume a collection of original and incisive essays that wrestle with the complexities of German thinkers’ engagement with philosophical, ethnographic, and material manifestations of ‘China’ over the long eighteenth century. The essays at once complicate and re-invigorate our understanding of China’s pivotal role in the emergent project of European cultural self-fashioning that continues to shape the legacies of Enlightenment."

David Porter, University of Michigan

"In my opinion, this collection is a major research contribution. Every chapter is a work of original research and original interpretation solidly based on the analysis of primary texts and relevant secondary sources."

Peter K.J. Park, University of Texas, Dallas