Robert Steuckers explores the remarkable transformation of China from a weakened empire to a global superpower, highlighting the nation’s adaptability and resilience.
During the eighteenth century, China and India held much of the world’s wealth. While India was under British influence, China was not. China was governed by an extraordinary emperor, the grandson of an equally exceptional grandfather. Emperor Qianlong (Ch’ien Lung) led the Celestial Empire for sixty years, from 1736 to 1796, belonging to the Manchu dynasty that succeeded the Ming, a Han Chinese dynasty. Qianlong’s grandfather, Kangxi (1654–1723), ruled for 61 years, demonstrating that lasting power is a guarantee of good governance and fruitful continuity. Under Kangxi’s reign, the economy stabilised, and the cultural level of the empire consistently increased. An encyclopaedia was composed for the use of the mandarins. In 1730, the Russians were allowed to establish a trading post in Beijing under the Treaty of Kyakhta.
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During the eighteenth century, China and India held much of the world’s wealth. While India was under British influence, China was not. China was governed by an extraordinary emperor, the grandson of an equally exceptional grandfather. Emperor Qianlong (Ch’ien Lung) led the Celestial Empire for sixty years, from 1736 to 1796, belonging to the Manchu dynasty that succeeded the Ming, a Han Chinese dynasty. Qianlong’s grandfather, Kangxi (1654–1723), ruled for 61 years, demonstrating that lasting power is a guarantee of good governance and fruitful continuity. Under Kangxi’s reign, the economy stabilised, and the cultural level of the empire consistently increased. An encyclopaedia was composed for the use of the mandarins. In 1730, the Russians were allowed to establish a trading post in Beijing under the Treaty of Kyakhta.
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Robert Steuckers was born in Uccle in January 1956. After secondary school in the Latin-Sciences option (1967–1974), he studied German and English at university and at the College of Translators and Interpreters between 1974 and 1980. He did his military service in the Belgian army from 1982 to 1983 and then opened a translation office in Brussels (1983–2003) before taking up several teaching posts (2003–2021) and finally retiring.
