“An Intercultural Book World: The Production and Distribution of Sino-European Books in China (1582-c.1823)”

A unique characteristic of the cultural contacts between China and Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is the intercultural circuit of books that was established: European books travelling to China, and in return Chinese books travelling to Europe. This talk focuses on the Chinese pole of this cross-continental textual exchange, where the printing of translated Sino-European books was facilitated by the presence of a well-established print culture. By analyzing a unique collection of these Sino-European books, this presentation investigates their production and distribution from the late Ming until the mid-Qing period (1582-c.1823). As such, it provides insights into the emergence of an intercultural ‘book world’.