In this timely and refreshing work, Mårten Söderblom Saarela argues that in early modern Eurasia, the study of the Manchu script occupied a significant and heretofore underappreciated role in the production of knowledge about the study of language generally, and knowledge of the Qing specifically. The types of knowledge produced differed based on access to Manchu materials and Manchu speakers—the latter depending on proximity to Beijing—and individual authors’ scholarly and linguistic backgrounds. Söderblom Saarela convincingly demonstrates his thesis through an ordering and analysis of sources on Manchu linguistics, literature, and printing from across the Eurasian continent. The Early Modern Travels of Manchu should be of interest to readers interested in global history, Qing studies, and the history of science.
In recent decades, particularly in North America and China, an increasing number of scholars have studied Manchu to access previously underutilized sources for the study of early modern East Asia and...
