De la multitude de la Chine

Observers of the Enlightenment also demonstrated a keen interest in China. Indeed, before the emergence of a "Sinophobie" movement, the contrary, that is to say, "Sinophilia" prevailed in Europe during the first half of the 18th century. Population issues were those that preoccupied observers at the very time when Western scholars were debating over the predicted dépopulation of the world. Jesuit missionary archives focused on two population characteristics ; multitude and prosperity. Observers enumerated several factors favoring population expansion in China, such as the climate or traditions, as well as several obstacles, such as frequent and widespread diseases. The pertinence of these observations is sometimes questioned and has given rise to a genuine historiographical critique. Accounts by missionaries were joined by observations made by political mathematicians, such as the Prussian, Süssmilch, or the Dutchman, Struyck, who provided estimated figures that could either be compared and/or juxtaposed to data we now possess. This text provides a forum of expression for all these observers, and highlights the perceptions Europeans had of the Chinese during the Enlightenment period

Ancient history · Art · China · Empire · Enlightenment · Historiography · Humanities · Multitude · Political science · Politics · Population · Prosperity · Sociology · Theology · Chinese history and philosophy · Demography · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · Philosophy