“The Anton Library rare manuscripts are an extraordinary source to analyze the economy and society and further understand the relations between China and Europe for the early modern period.”
Project Background:
The aim of the project is to measure levels of consumption across different social groups in China and Europe during the early modern period by bringing up a case study of two city ports, Macao and Marseille. Chinese goods – Hunan silk from Hunan, Jindezhen porcelain or Yunnan tea – entered Europe via Marseille, Seville and Cadiz. China also imported European luxury products such as French mirrors, Portuguese wine or Italian wine glasses. GECEM researchers are collecting and analyzing data from European and Chinese archives. Lei Jin PhD researcher at GECEM project under the supervision of prof. Pérez García is conducting his PhD dissertation and working package at GECEM on the introduction of Portuguese wine and consumption of foreign and local liqueurs in south China. Currently Lei Jin is collecting relevant data for GECEM project at The Anton Library of The Beijing Center and the Historical Archives of China.
About GECEM:
The GECEM www.gecem.eu (Global Encounters between China and Europe: Trade Networks, Consumption and Cultural Exchanges in Macau and Marseille, 1680-1840) project is directed by prof. Manuel Pérez García (Shanghai Jiao Tong University). This project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC)-Starting Grant, European Union’s Research Program Horizon 2020, and hosted at Pablo Olavide University (UPO) of Seville. As a first (European) researcher fully based in China to win an ERC Grant, prof. Pérez García was awarded the project in December 2015, in which the UPO will act as main European institution for this project.
The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of the entire semester, full of trips to the zoo, mountain hikes, ancient parks, and more! Our first trip out of many was a visit to the Beijing Zoo. I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I wanted to see some pandas, since I was in China after all, and our TBC friend Andy made it happen.
Spending a whole semester in Beijing, I knew I had to make the trip down south and check out Shanghai, and the city certainly lived up to the expectations. Everyone describes Shanghai as this super futuristic metropolis, and after spending a weekend there I understand why it has this reputation.