China’s Resources for the West: From Jesuits to the Romantics

The Danube Institute presents Dr. David Lloyd Dusenbury’s next panel discussion in the framework of the China and the West: Resources of the Past lecture series: “China’s Resources for the West: From Jesuits to the Romantics”

China and the West have been influencing each other for more than 400 years. This shared history is much richer than might be suggested by the “century of humiliation” which is keenly remembered in China, or the astonishing 20th-century developments which are commonly highlighted in the West.

Early modern Europeans found in China a rich and highly ordered civilization without any definite notion of God. This raised many questions for political thinkers in Europe. Notably, they began to ask: Is it possible to have a virtuous society without relying on a deity? This is a question which, arguably, comes to define modern political culture in the West. And it stems, in critical ways, from the Jesuits’ long encounter with China.

A century or so later, Westerners took from Chinese travel reports a novel idea of “beauty without order” which inspired many developments in Gothic and Romantic art. Several of the art forms which define the Western legacy in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, owe signal debts to 18^th-century impressions of China and its arts. These debts should certainly not be forgotten.

The lecture will be followed by a brief discussion with Philip Pilkington, Macroeconomist, Visiting Fellow, Danube Institute. Calum TM Nicholson, Danube Institute’s Research Director, will open the event.

Biography:

Dr. David Lloyd Dusenbury is a philosopher and historian of ideas. From 2021 to 2024, he was Senior Fellow at the Danube Institute. His essays and criticism have appeared in The Times Literary Supplement, The Spectator, American Affairs, and many other venues. His most recent book, I Judge No One: A Political Life of Jesus, is out now with Oxford University Press.

Details:

Date: June 11, 2025, 5:30pm
Venue: Lónyay-Hatvany Villa, 1 Csónak Street, 1015 Budapest
(Entrance: Aranybástya Restaurant)
Language: English

Participation is free; however, due to limited seating, pre-registration is required by clicking the button below.