Title page of the early guide to China, D' Historie ofte Beschrijvinghe van het groote Rijck China 1595

This is the title page of Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza’s “History of the Great Kingdom of China,” printed in the Netherlands. Mendoza was a Spanish friar, and his account, first published in Spanish, became a primary source of European knowledge about China. This early guide presents us with questions about the cultural politics of imagery and the West’s perception of the East. The book was compiled from various accounts and reflects the limited and often skewed understanding Europeans had of China. Note the image on the title page, of three men in classical garb. As a historian, I look into the conditions that shaped the book’s production and reception. Archival research into the publishing history, translations, and reader responses can reveal how knowledge about China was constructed and disseminated in Europe, and how the book influenced European attitudes towards China. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context.