Through Hidden Shensi

"Witnessing Cultural Exchange between China and the West The record of how China was viewed by Westerners dates back as far as The Travels of Marco Polo at the end of the thirteenth century, which opened Westerners to a vague romanticized version of and yearning for China. It falls into Western Sinology, which is the study of China and Chinese culture by Western scholars, a branch of Orientalism.

Most authors of such travelogues lived in China for long periods of time, learned the Chinese language, translated Chinese classics, drew maps of China, etc. Therefore, their observations and descriptions of Chinese society are a relatively reliable witness of cultural exchange between China and the West at that time.

The original works on Western Sinology or China Studies are still valuable materials for the purposes of teaching and research. Since the 1980s, the Chinese academic community’s interest in “Western Learning Spreading to the East” has exploded with the Sinology classics being systematically introduced. Yet travelogues are often overlooked with little to no effort being made on them. This Orient Explorer Collection produced by City University of Hong Kong Press is an effort to open the door to a treasure of modern Sino-West history. The personal experiences and records left by the Westerners in this Series are not only first-hand information on the history of Sino-foreign relations, the spread and influence of Western culture in China, and the interaction between the Chinese and foreign cultures, but they are also important resources in the study of all aspects of social life in modern China. The different and varied views of China exhibited in this Series can also be beneficial to scholars and the public.

I sincerely believe that this Orient Explorer Collection will be very well received by a variety of readers.

Guoqing Li
Professor, The Ohio State University

"