Acknowledgements
This book is the result of research undertaken during my dissertation at the University of Amsterdam, which was part of the NWO funded project âThe Chinese Impact. Images and ideas of China in the Dutch Golden Ageâ led by Thijs Weststeijn. In 2016, our team visited China to take part in an international seminar, generously hosted by the Fudan University Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies. Unlike our seventeenth-century forebears, we went to China by plane. And while they were confined to the drudgery of life at sea for months at a time, we arrived safe and sound from Amsterdam in Shanghai in less than 11 hours. During the day, we were treated to stimulating presentations and discussion, and in the evening, we ate, drank and made merry. It was a wonderful first visit to China, which was made all the more special by the truly intercultural meeting of minds I was fortunate enough to be part of.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my fellow travellers Thijs Weststeijn, Willemijn van Noord, and Lennert Gesterkamp. Here, I would also like to include Lia van Gemert and Frans Grijzenhout, who, although they may not have been with us in China physically, certainly came along in spirit. Not only did we travel across the world together, they all accompanied me in my journey towards the completion of this book.
I am indebted to âThe Chinese Impactâ Advisory Board for their essential contributions. I am grateful to Anne Gerritsen, Michael Keevak, Djoeke van Netten, Stacey Pierson, Nicolas Standaert, Jing Sun, and Hilde de Weerdt for the time and effort taken to participate in annual meetings. You truly made the project interdisciplinary and your comments and suggestions have greatly improved my research. I am furthermore thankful to the members of my dissertation committee for their constructive comments, questions, and suggestions, which were greatly beneficial in turning my dissertation into this monograph.
I am also indebted to the Departments of Dutch Language and Culture, and History at the UvA, and Art History at the University of Utrecht for their guidance and enthusiastic incorporation of my research; special thanks to the Amsterdam Centre for the Study of the Golden Age, which indeed is a meeting place for the like-minded. My appreciation also goes out to my copy-editor Jodi van Oudheusden-Peita for her conscientious and involved proof-reading, to the editors of the Brillâs Library of the Written Word series, and to the anonymous reviewer.
The department of Book Studies at the University of Amsterdam has been my academic home for more than ten years, and my gratitude goes out to all those involved. My sincere thanks to the people manning the Reading Rooms of the Allard Pierson for hauling hundreds of books from the depot to the desk, even when the elevator gave out. Thanks to the curators for their enthusiasm and their advice, and for making me love the written word in all its forms. Lisa Kuitert: thank you so much for your guidance and advice and for kindly teaching me the ropes of academia.
In the space between âprofessionalâ and âpersonalâ acknowledgements I mention Paul Dijstelberge, as you truly belong in both categories (as for that matter, many people mentioned above). I hope you know how much your friendship and guidance means to me. I fell in love with book history in part because of you, and your ongoing encouragement has made the infatuation stick. Over the course of this project, you kept your sense of humour when I lost mine, and for that alone I canât thank you enough.
The journey towards the completion of this book would have been impossible without the loving support of my friends and family. My parents and brother fed and nurtured my love for history and books from a very early age. My gratitude also goes out to my mother and late father-in-law for their support, to my sisters-in-law and their partners; and of course, to my fabulous nieces. To my friends, thank you for your unwavering check-ins and for celebrating those wins â big or small â with me. I appreciate you all for luring me away from my research by introducing me to very addictive board- and computer games.
Finally, to Jim. Youâre my best friend and greatest supporter. Thank you for showing me that I can make the journey alone, but making it so that I never have to.