The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500-1800 (Critical Issues in World and International History) - Softcover

Mungello successfully introduces, in a general historical overview, the idea of mutual influence and outlines the confrontation between Christianity and Chinese culture... What Mungello demonstrates, by linking different aspects of intellectual frameworks and of material cultures, is that the narrative of the exchange cannot be limited to a history of evangelical or commercial persuasion, or to a fictitious history of emotions, but has to expand to the selling of ideas, manifested in tangible objects, representations and rituals within a specific geographical area. European History Quarterly

A fourth edition of this book is now available. In the twenty-first century, China has emerged as the leading challenger to U.S. global dominance. China is often seen as a sleeping giant, emerging out of backwardness toward modernization. However, this vast country is not newly awakening, but rather returning to its previous state of world eminence. With this compelling perspective in mind, D. E. Mungello convincingly shows that contemporary relations between China and the West are far more like the 1500-1800 period than the more recent past. This fully revised third edition retains the clear and concise qualities of its predecessor, while adding striking new illustrations, incorporating significant recent scholarship, and developing important new social and cultural themes, including female infanticide and Chinese emigration to eighteenth-century Europe. Drawing from the author's decades of experience teaching world history, this book illustrates the importance of history to students and general readers trying to understand today's world.