Unfabling the East: The Enlightenment's Encounter with Asia (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780691196473)

How Enlightenment Europe rediscovered its identity by measuring itself against the great civilizations of Asia

During the long eighteenth century, Europe's travelers, scholars, and intellectuals looked to Asia in a spirit of puzzlement, irony, and openness. In this panoramic book, J rgen Osterhammel tells the story of the European Enlightenment's nuanced encounter with the great civilizations of the East, from the Ottoman Empire and India to China and Japan. He shows how major figures such as Leibniz, Voltaire, and Gibbon took a keen interest in Asian culture and challenges the notion that Europe's formative engagement with the non-European world was invariably marred by an imperial gaze and presumptions of Western superiority. A momentous work by one of Europe's most eminent historians, Unfabling the East brings the sights and sounds of this tumultuous age vividly to life. It takes readers on a thrilling voyage to the farthest shores, bringing back vital insights for our own multicultural age.

Author: J?gen Osterhammel
ISBN-10: 0691196478
ISBN-13: 9780691196473
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/19/2019
Pages: 696
Format: Paperback
Weight: 2.25lbs
Size: 9.10h x 5.80w x 1.90d