Bringing Together China and the West

On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2023, the University Library organized an exhibition and complied this commemorative volume to record and contextualize its burgeoning collection of Western rare books about China. This splendid volume features books, maps, and manuscripts from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. Among its treasures are some of the very finest works of early Sinology. Many of these were written by celebrated Jesuit missionaries like Matteo Ricci and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, who almost single-handedly founded modern Sinology through their deep engagement with early modern Chinese society and culture. As the writings of these missionaries percolated back to Europe, knowledge about China grew exponentially as European books about China became more accurate and detailed. Through its extended introduction, images, and descriptions, this catalogue illustrates the dynamic early history of the West's longstanding and profound interest in China, thereby giving members of the university community and the public at large an opportunity to consider how we might better "combine tradition with modernity and bring together China and the West."