EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Section 13 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 155 it had been for centuries prior. European travellers went to China in the early modern context of ‘discov- ery’ or for the purpose of advancing scientific knowledge of foreign lands. Travel was sponsored by both the Church and the Crown, and travellers returned with an intention to contribute their knowledge to the Republic of Letters. While a number of Chinese travellers were also interested in ‘science’ and advancing geographical knowledge, their travel accounts were overwhelmingly associated with self-narrative, explor- ing the relationship between man and the natural world surrounding him. Nature and landscape therefore played a significant role in late Ming travel texts. The European source material comes from the accounts of Iberian traders, priests and travellers, such as Martin de Rada (1533–1578) and Matteo Ricci (1552–1610). The Chinese source material includes the works of Xu Xiake (1587–1641), one of the most prolific and highly regarded Chinese travellers. It also discusses the works of Wang Shixing (1547–1598) and Yuan Zhongdao (1570–1626), who enjoyed less fame, but whose works are equally representative of late Ming thought and travel culture. Till Christina (University of Hamburg) Engaging Youth: Wei Siluan and the Nelson-group in Göttingen Key words: Youth activism, Young ChinaAssociation, Sino-German relations, socialism, Republican China In 1925, the German philosopher Leonard Nelson (1882–1927), together with the Chinese mathematician Wei Siluan (1895–1992), and other likeminded socialist intellectuals (hereafter “Nelson-group”), founded the Militant Socialist International (Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund, ISK) in 1925. The party aimed at educating the political leaders of tomorrow, inviting mainly working class youth to join them. Most inter- estingly, a small number of Chinese students at Göttingen University contributed greatly to the work of the Nelson-group and later, the ISK. Among these Chinese students, Wei Siluan is particularly interesting. Wei first got into contact with the group when he arrived in Göttingen in 1923. As a member of the Young China Study Association, he was an experienced writer and activist. From 1918 until 1925, the association’s goal was to organize the Chinese intellectual youth on the principles of equality and intellectual freedom, with independent cells all over China. In Göttingen, Wei must have been attracted by the Nelson-group’s strong internationalist outlook and their focus on youth education, thus showing many similarities to the Young China Association. After his return to China in 1927, however, Wei failed to organize a Chinese ISK cell. In Germany, the ISK fell into oblivion with the rise of the National Socialists in 1933, and the subsequent exile of its members. Analyzing the activities of Wei and other Chinese Nelson-followers in Germany, as well as after their return to China, this paper will disclose a previously overseen aspect of Chinese socialist activism. It will also uncover traces of cooperation between Chinese and Germans within the ISK. Additionally, comparing the approaches to social organization and education of youth by the Young China Study Association and the Nelson-group, the analysis will draw special attention to the motivations of the Chinese students to engage in both, the Nelson-group and the ISK. Tythacott Louise (SOAS, University of London) Collecting and Displaying Objects from the ‘Summer Palace’ in Beijing Key words: Yuanmingyuan, ‘Summer Palace’, loot, museums, displays This paper explores the lives of objects from China’s Yuanmingyuan, or ‘Summer Palace’, to the north- west of Beijing. Initiated by the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662–1722) in the early eighteenth century, the site was developed by his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736–1795). At around 350 hectares, it included thousands of buildings across a vast landscape: it also housed China’s imperial art collections — paintings, calligraphy, porcelain, bronzes, textiles and cloisonné. In October 1860, at the culmination of the Second OpiumWar, British and French regiments looted the buildings in the Yuanmingyuan. The British then pro- ceeded to burn the entire site. This widespread destruction of China’s most important complex of palaces,