Western opinion on China during the eighteenth century underwent radical change. Whereas earlier Europeans regarded China in highly idealized terms, late eighteenth century Europeans saw in China a hidebound and closed society, uninterested in new knowledge, science and innovation. Based on your readings of Emperor Kangxi’s “Self-Portrait,” Emperor Qianlong’s “Edict on Trade with Great Britain,” and Joanna Waley-Cohen’s “China and Western Technology in the Eighteenth Century,”
Discuss China’s attitudes towards the West and the general validity of late eighteenth century European claims.