China on Paper: European and Chinese Works from the Late Sixteenth to Early Nineteenth Century [Paperback]

The striking illustrated books, maps, and prints featured inChina on Paperare some of the most notable among the printed works produced at the dawn of the era of global trade to present China to Europe and bring Western science, religion, and art to China. From a Chinese translation of the rosary to French editions of Confucian classics, from a monumental map of the world to magnificent engravings of the European pavilions built by Jesuits at the behest of the Qianlong emperor—these works on paper reveal a compelling and largely hidden history of mutual curiosity and fruitful collaboration at a time when few people traveled far from home.

“As one expects from a Getty publication, the scholarship is thorough and the reproductions are impeccable.”—Publishers Weekly

“This is a thorough, incisive study of the history and mutual influences of the contacts between Europe and China from the 16th to the mid-19th centuries as revealed in images on paper….  Recommended.”—Choice

 “China on Paperis essential reading for both general and academic readers with an interest in exchange of ideas, and ‘paper’ trade goods, between Europe and China during this period.”—History in Review

 “The virtue of this highly informative book is precisely this: it allows us to give these works the consideration they deserve not only as individual items, but more importantly as part of a movement in the transfer of ideas; one that stimulated new hybrid forms and shaped how China and Europe conceived of one another in the pre-modern era.”—The International Map Collector’s Society Journal