Imagining China: The View from Europe, 1550-1700 Overview given by curator Timothy Billings Part 1

Overview Written by Sarah Rosenbaum

Introduction:

Alexander Huang was the video curator for the exhibit. Jim Kuhn of the Folger staff was
the consultant on the preparation of this exhibit.

Materials: There is neither a catalogue nor a free brochure for this exhibit. There is material on the Folger Website and a cell phone tour, somewhat briefer than usual. (Phone number for the cell phone tour: (202)595-1844. There will be an article in the Folger magazine which will arrive soon. At the Information Desk, there is also a Children’s Guide, with a related page to take home.

Sources: Most of the books and documents in the exhibit are from our collection. A few rare
Chinese books and documents are borrowed from the Library of Congress or private owners (one of them is the Curator) or are facsimiles of things in other collections. Most of the Porcelain is from the Walters Gallery in Baltimore; about half is usually on exhibit and half is in storage there. Some of these pieces have never before been publicly shown.

Dynasties: For those of us with a very limited grasp of Chinese history, I have put a list of
dynasties and dates at the end of this write-up. Case Title Cards: The Chinese characters following the English titles are translations of the English titles (more or less.) Most of the pictures on the cards are taken from China illustrata; small print at the bottom identifies the source of each illustration. A few previous exhibits have used illustrations on the Title cards; this is the first time that identifying information has been used as well.

Overview
He asked us how much time we usually spent on the exhibit during our regular tours. When he heard “five to fifteen minutes”, he said he would go around and give us an idea of some
themes that he wished to highlight with this exhibit.
From the 1550's to the early 1700's, Europe looked at China with awe and admiration. By the mid 18th century, a negative tone crept in which led to the racist ideas of the 19th century. The Jesuit scholars who lived in China and learned the language really understood the society. But when their writings were translated and filtered through European biases, much misinformation crept in. He compares it to the game of “telephone” in which the message at the end bears little resemblance to the one at the beginning. (Cases 1 and 2) When Europeans of this period thought of China, they first thought of Rhubarb!, of sailing wagons, of musk and of porcelain. Except for porcelain, very different ideas than we have today. (Cases 5, 6 and 7)
The Jesuit mission ended because of a dispute about ancestor worship. The Chinese venerated with incense their own deceased parents, their ancestors and certain revered people of past times. One of these was Confucius. Was this proper respect or a type of worship incompatible with Christianity? The Pope finally ruled that is was worship, but the custom was so ingrained in the culture that it was Christianity that lost out. (Cases 8 and 11)
Cases 13 and 14 and the computer display show how Chinese history and Chinese plays were a source for European plays. Also Chinese translations and productions of Shakespeare’s plays.

Exhibit Website