Barbaren & wijsgeren
Barbaren & wijsgeren
24 min read
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About This Book
"Nog altijd kijken we met een mengeling van verbazing en bewondering naar China. Chinese goederen zijn niet weg te denken uit ons dagelijks leven, maar ons beeld van China en de Chinezen is minder concreet. De Chinese taal en haar schrift, de staatsvorm en de ouderdom van de Chinese beschaving zijn moeilijk in te passen in het westerse wereldbeeld. Eigenlijk net als in de zeventiende eeuw, toen Chinese industriële massaproductie standaard onderdeel van Nederlandse huishoudens werd en prentenboeken over China ongekend populair waren. Dit boek belicht de wederzijdse beeldvorming die het resultaat was van de intensieve contacten tussen Nederlanders en Chinezen tijdens de zeventiende eeuw. Zowel de culturele uitwisseling als de dynamiek van stereotypering, die daarvan het gevolg was, wordt uitgelicht. Zo wordt duidelijk hoe de beeldvorming een eigen weg volgde die nog altijd actueel is". Exhibition: Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands (25.03-20.08.2017).
"In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Netherlands was one of the few European countries to have contacts with the Chinese Empire -- the Middle Kingdom. Nowadays many Europeans regard China with admiration and sometimes with surprise at the economic boom the country is undergoing. Products 'Made in China' are inescapable parts of our daily lives, but the image of the country is less clear. The Chinese language, traditions, philosophy and the age of Chinese civilization are not always easy to fit into the Western world view. This situation is like that in the seventeenth century, when Chinese products became an everyday part of Dutch households and lavishly illustrated books about China proved extraordinarily popular. At the same time, new knowledge often clashed with the old assumptions about the Middle Kingdom. Barbarians & Philosophers sheds light on the reciprocal formation of images that came about through the first close contacts between the Dutch and the Chinese. The Dutch were fascinated by the 'exotic' Chinese and their centuries-old culture and knowledge, although by no means everything was equally easily accepted. After their first meeting the Chinese, too, formed an image of the Dutch, as 'redheaded barbarians'. It is clear that the stereotypes about Chinese customs and practices determined the modern image of China. The exhibition and the accompanying book Barbarians & Philosophers provide an explanation of this multifaceted cultural exchange"--Frans Halsmuseum website.
"In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Netherlands was one of the few European countries to have contacts with the Chinese Empire -- the Middle Kingdom. Nowadays many Europeans regard China with admiration and sometimes with surprise at the economic boom the country is undergoing. Products 'Made in China' are inescapable parts of our daily lives, but the image of the country is less clear. The Chinese language, traditions, philosophy and the age of Chinese civilization are not always easy to fit into the Western world view. This situation is like that in the seventeenth century, when Chinese products became an everyday part of Dutch households and lavishly illustrated books about China proved extraordinarily popular. At the same time, new knowledge often clashed with the old assumptions about the Middle Kingdom. Barbarians & Philosophers sheds light on the reciprocal formation of images that came about through the first close contacts between the Dutch and the Chinese. The Dutch were fascinated by the 'exotic' Chinese and their centuries-old culture and knowledge, although by no means everything was equally easily accepted. After their first meeting the Chinese, too, formed an image of the Dutch, as 'redheaded barbarians'. It is clear that the stereotypes about Chinese customs and practices determined the modern image of China. The exhibition and the accompanying book Barbarians & Philosophers provide an explanation of this multifaceted cultural exchange"--Frans Halsmuseum website.
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