Bringing a Global Perspective to Chinese Studies: A Tribute to Rudolf Wagner’s Scholarship

Abstract

This paper is a personal tribute to Rudolph Wagner. In tracing my long associations with Rudolph, I discuss in some detail and in deep appreciation his major contributions to the field of modern and contemporary Chinese literature, ranging from his early research on the Taiping Rebellion to the long essay on the Dianshizhai huabao in his latest book, Joining the Global Public. I place particular emphasis on Rudolph’s immense erudition and his vision of a transcultural world in which both China and Europe play major intersecting roles.