“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.
Over this past weekend, some of our students enrolled at Minzu University of China took their annual Spring Outing – this year, to Gubei Water Town. Situated about a 2-hour drive northeast of Beijing, the April weather made it absolutely perfect to explore for a spring outing. It surrounds various canals and offshoots of Yuanyang lake.
If you ever want to get a taste of Old Beijing, by far one of the best ways is to visit the hutongs. They’ve conceptually been around all the way since the 1200s, and in their most modern forms exist as protected alleyways and streets surrounded by old traditional houses and neighborhoods in the heart of Beijing and are recognized in China to be an important part of cultural heritage in the city.