China and the world: Perception and analysis

Abstract

This paper considers whether China's images of itself may have influenced analyses of China from the outside, and thereby skewed understanding. A sense of Chineseness, of a culture and civilization which is somehow very different from any other, is a recurrent theme in China's history and in the history of Europe's direct contacts with China. Acceptance by Europeans of such images as true representations of China is itself a tradition which stretches back many centuries, and the sentiment of China's uniqueness often seems to have been drawn into contemporary studies of China.

Keywords:

• China
• culture
• sinology
• uniqueness
• perception
• constructive engagement