The recent two decades have witnessed a growing scholarly interest in the history of Sino-German relations. Although until now this lively field of research consists overwhelmingly of works done by scholars of Chinese studies, new aspects of the interactive influences of German colonialism and imperialism in China are now being brought to attention by historians on Germany. Based mainly on archival materials and other sources written in German, the essays in Germany and China: Transnational Encounters since the Eighteenth Century collectively represent the latest manifestation of a Western view on the various and multifaceted ways in which China and Germany have mutually engaged. Taking up Sino-German diplomatic, missionary, and cultural and intellectual exchanges since the eighteenth century, the fourteen intriguing essays spread out over three chronologically arranged sections and the diverse set of topics speak with each other across different axes.

Following a general introduction to the volume, the five chapters in Part I are devoted to the period from the eighteenth century to World War I. The first three chapters expound the rise of German interest in China through an analysis of the views on China held by several great German thinkers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, including Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Christian Wolff, Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel, and Karl Gützlaff. Chapter 4 recounts the history of Sino-German relations from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the end of WW I in 1918, noting that it is the shared sense of isolation and betrayal created by the Treaty of Versailles that paved new ways for the bilateral relations in the following decades. Building upon a fascinating case study of the German doctor Richard Wilhelm and the (Western-trained) Chinese physician Li Benjing in the German-controlled area Kiaochow, Chapter 5 examines their different conceptions of hygiene and medical treatment to provide a refreshing perspective to view colonial territory as spaces of negotiation and transcultural interactions.

Probably most readers will find the five chapters in the second part, which cover the interwar years from 1918 to 1945, particularly valuable and joyful to read. As a chronic extension of Chapter 4, the first chapter leading off this section moves outward to presents a succinct yet excellent overview of the relations between the Republic of China and the Weimar Republic and then the Third Reich, reminding that the intensive cooperation between China and Germany was very much based on mutual interests and the desire of two outsiders to redefine their international roles. The remaining four chapters set out to explore spheres of cultural, intellectual, and geopolitical encounters by delving into a large bulk of topics ranging from the profound influence of German geopolitical thoughts on Chinese intellectuals, impact of Chinese philosophy on Hermann Hesse, to China’s privileged position in Hermann Hesse’s writings and the prevalence of the Yellow Peril discourse among European Jews who sought refuge in Shanghai during World War II.

The last cluster of chapters centres on diverse dimensions of Sino-German exchanges in the post-1945 period. The first two chapters are recommended to be read in combination as they introduce readers to various aspects of the shifting image of China in East and West Germany and how China’s re-emergence on the world stage has affected policies in the two German states. Through an intriguing reading of the travel writings of West German authors (e.g., Adolf Muschg, Max Frisch, and Günter Grass), the next chapter offers a vivid example of how the changing vision of China’s has shaped the German after-war intellectual realm. Focusing on the dramatic political changes in 1989-90, the final chapter illustrates how the governments of China and Germany dealt with each other on the background of German unification and the Tiananmen protests.

All well-researched and clearly written, the essays succeed in offering “a more comprehensive presentation and broader analysis of Sino-German relations from the eighteenth to the twentieth century than any existing volume on this topic … while also presenting the most recent scholarship on these topics and transnational history” (15). An exceptional merit of this volume is that it reminds readers of the significant roles China and Germany played in each other’s histories and thus helps to bridge the gap between “Chinese” studies and “German” studies. It broadens the frame of German imperial history to incorporate China and contributes to a surging field of scholarship that places Chinese history within the scope of German entanglements with the world. The advantage of this interdisciplinary approach is obvious. For instance, although some topics such as the presence of German missionaries in nineteenth-century China and the Jewish in wartime Shanghai tend to be areas of established scholarly attention, there remain many unexplored avenues that can add fresh perspectives, as the story of the German doctor and the Yellow Peril discourse reveal. Moreover, by situating several German intellectuals and their Chinese counterparts within the same context, many chapters in the volume collectively demonstrate how far-reaching German and Chinese philosophies and thoughts could be and how profound such mutual influences were. Another point to praise is the extensive German documents and archival findings consulted for the individual studies, which greatly broadens what is now known about the content and context of Sino-German interactions.

Adding much new information to our existing understanding, the use of German sources shall be warmly applauded. However, critical readers may expect to be exposed to more Chinese sources. As another recent publication on Sino-German relations has exemplified, many collections of Chinese historical materials were published by institutions in PRC and Taiwan since the 1990s and such improved access to Chinese archives has made possible new archive-driven understandings of German’s relationship with China.Footnote ¹ Placing sources from both sides in conversation would allow us to view history through both German and Chinese eyes and thus generate multifaceted and multi-archival stories. Furthermore, all but one essays focus on encounters and interactions between German and Chinese that occurred in China. It would be interesting to see additional studies dedicated to exchanges and influences in Germany as well. Fortunately, some very promising works have appeared recently.Footnote ²

These minor cavils aside, Germany and China is a very valuable volume that takes us a step further toward a more interactive, and less bounded, history of Sino-German relations and their profound mutual influence from the eighteenth century onward. Many chapters stand to become useful references for German-Chinese and German-Asian scholars and will surely inspire future studies. Certainly, it will also appeal to readers generally interested in German-Asian studies and global and transnational history.