ABSTRACT
This chapter provides empirical evidence to measure the impact of international exhibitions on the image of China based on media reports on and exhibition reviews of the four case studies representing the evolution of China’s cultural diplomacy over the past two decades. The Qing Dynasty was China’s last imperial dynasty and founded by the Manchus – foreign to Han Chinese – living in the north east of Eurasian continent. The early contact between China and the West helped redress the perception of ‘widespread persecution of Christians’ in Qing-era China and contextualise a new understanding of China. The exhibition seemed to speak of how the British may deal with the topical but still unfamiliar ‘new’ China. The exhibition also had an impact on the perception of China only as a producer of cheap goods. Nick Pearce said that The Three Emperors explored ‘a period of Chinese history that reflects confidence, expansion and political ambition’.
