{"product_id":"9783032158758","title":"Suzhou and Venice Textual Constructions and Cross-Cultural Visions","description":"\u003ch3\u003eChinese Literature and Culture in the World\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eSuzhou and Venice\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTextual Constructions and Cross-Cultural Visions\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eDaniele Beltrame\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eLiterary Criticism \/ Asian \/ General\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\"\u003eThis book traces the key stages in the cultural construction of Suzhou as ‘the Venice of China,’ through textual and visual representations by European missionaries, travellers and intellectuals from the thirteenth through nineteenth centuries. The images and representations of China they produced played a significant role in shaping and disseminating knowledge about the ‘Orient’. In their works, the frequent parallel drawn between Venice and Suzhou served a heuristic function: it aimed to domesticate a distant and foreign reality for a European audience. While initial depictions of China, influenced by late-Renaissance thought, constructed China through inductive and analogical methods, voyagers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries adopted an empirical stance often filtered through a picturesque view that resulted in a similarly fictional portrayal of China. The vision of Suzhou as ‘the Venice of China’ endured over the centuries and was solidified by its consistent reiteration. Following the twinning agreement between Suzhou and Venice in 1980, the discursive association between the two cities intensified. The first part of this book describes the cultural construction of the long palimpsest that shaped the image of Suzhou as the ‘Venice of China’. The second part explores how Venice is portrayed in Chinese sources, which initially reflected various foreign perspectives and ultimately culminated in a reversal of the centuries-old adage, presenting Venice as ‘the Suzhou of Europe’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';\"\u003eDaniele Beltrame \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eis Associate Professor at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, Italy, specialising in modern and contemporary Chinese literature. Previously, with a research grant from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, he investigated Suzhou’s representation in European sources and Venice’s depiction in Chinese texts as part of the project \u003cem\u003eVenice and Suzhou – Water Cities along the Silk Roads\u003c\/em\u003e. His current research focuses on Chinese popular fiction, particularly original and translated short stories by early 20th-century writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e29 July 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpringer Nature Switzerland\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePalgrave Macmillan\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9783032158758\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e340\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Springer Nature Switzerland","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45228211568780,"sku":"9783032158758","price":125.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9783032158758.jpg?v=1781059785","url":"https:\/\/lateknightbooks.com\/products\/9783032158758","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}