Transforming the East: A New Research Project in Australia

Abstract

The Jesuit translations of the Confucian canon not only provided one of the first European windows into Chinese culture but also changed the intellectual and cultural history of Europe. This paper introduces a new project, which examines the rich history of these translations and their dissemination, and interrogates how Confucian ideas influenced the development of Enlightenment intellectual culture, analysing the personal and textual networks through which the first substantial literary and philosophical exchange was conducted between Europe and China.