''Intellectual Trends in the Qing Period'' or ''An Overview of Scholarship in Qing'' (), also translated as ''An Outline of Academic Studies in the Qing Dynasty'', ''General Review of Academics in Qing Dynasty'', is a book on the history of scholarship in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

Liang Qichao Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超 ; Wade-Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu'') (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, journalist, and intellectual. His thou ...

that was started in 1902 and published in 1920. The book was drafted as a preface to Jiang Fangzhen's ''History of the European Renaissance Times'', but because of its length, it became a separate book. It systematically outlines the development of Chinese academic thought from the end of the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

to the beginning of the 20th century, over a period of more than 200 years. In it, Liang compared the

European Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

with the development of academic thought in the Qing dynasty, and discussed the content and historical significance of the Renaissance. He asserted that the key difference between them lay in the underdevelopment of literature and fine art in the Qing. The book was translated into English by

Immanuel C. Y. Hsu Immanuel Chung-Yueh Hsü (, 1923 – October 24, 2005) was a sinologist, a scholar of modern Chinese intellectual and diplomatic history, and a professor of history at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Biography Born in Shanghai i ...

and published by

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

in 1959 with an Introduction by

Benjamin I. Schwartz Benjamin Isadore Schwartz (December 12, 1916 – November 14, 1999) was an American academic, political scientist, and sinologist who wrote on a wide range of topics in Chinese politics and intellectual history. He taught at Harvard his entire ...

. Hsu translated the title as ''Intellectual Trends in the Ch'ing Period''. Hsu provided a detailed interpretation of Liang's book in the process of translation. This book revealed the academic situation in China between 1664 and 1911, and thus changed the perception of "unchanging China" in the Western mind, thus opening the door for Western scholars and students to understand modern Chinese history.

References

{{reflist 1920 non-fiction books 1959 non-fiction books Non-fiction books by discipline History books about the Qing dynasty Historiography of China