China in Australasia

James Beattie is Associate Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. As well as his work on Chinese art collecting, James is an environmental historian, researching ecological exchange, gardens, conservation, health, landscape art and history of science.Richard Bullen is Associate Professor of Art History and Theory at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, where he teaches Japanese art history and art theory.Maria Galikowski is Senior Lecturer in Chinese at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Her research focuses on the cultural and social transformation of Reform-era China as reflected in the visual arts.

This superbly coherent edited volume brings arts research into a fascinating and productive conversation with politics and history as it considers how arts from China have played a foundational role in shaping and altering understandings of China among those of us living in the Asia-Pacific region. William Peterson, Senior Lecturer, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders UniversityChina in Australasia presents a rich array of studies on the history of cultural diplomacy and cross-cultural exchanges between China and Australia and New Zealand. These stories of collecting and exhibitions are all the more important for standing outside the canonical narratives of twentieth and twenty-first century Chinese international engagement, expanding our understanding of art and exchange not only in terms of the where, but also the when and how. For those outside Australasia, this innovative collection powerfully illustrates the significance of Australia’s and New Zealand’s regional engagements. For those within the region, it offers an especially timely study of these countries’ long-standing and close links to Asia, poignantly contributing to ongoing discussions about connections with their closest neighbors.Stephen H. Whiteman, Senior Lecturer in the Art and Architecture of China, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Honorary Associate, Art History, The University of SydneyAs the first truly wide-ranging foray into this territory, China in Australasia ought to be considered an essential reader for anyone interested in learning more about the oft-overlooked role of the arts in shaping Australasia’s relations with China. It lays an important foundation for future work in this area, and the editors are to be commended for bringing together such a diverse range of research into a readable, cohesive collection.Grace Gassin, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

• 1. China and the Art of Cultural Diplomacy  2. Better Late than Never: New Zealand and China, 1949–2016  3. From Friendship to Fear? Australia–China relations, 1950s–2000s  4. Embracing Friendship through Gift and Exchange: Rewi Alley and the Art of Museum Diplomacy in Cold War China and New Zealand  5. Melbourne Mandarins: ‘Modern Chinese Painters’, 1974  6. ‘Imparting Experience’: The Huxian Peasant Painting Tour in New Zealand and Australia  7. Artistic Activism, Cultural Diplomacy and Aotearoa New Zealand  8. Displaced Gardens as Sites of ‘Chineseness’: Design and Function  9. White Rabbit, Contemporary Chinese Arts, and Soft Power in Chippendale  10. Soft Power and the Role of Art in the Development of Taiwan–Mainland China Relations