Erik Baark – författare

Baark examines the transfer of telegraph technology to China in the late nineteenth century. He shows how the initial Chinese rejection of the telegraph as an inconvenient technology contributed to violent conflicts between foreigners and the Chinese, but that this resistence gradually gave way to an assimilation of the telegraph into Chinese society.The transfer and assimilation of advanced technology has been an important challenge for China's modernization for more than a century. Baark examines some of the dilemmas faced by Chinese modernizers of the yangwu (Western affairs) movement from the 1860s to the 1890s. Telegraph technology emerged in the West on the basis of scientific discoveries in electricity in the early nineteenth century, and was greeted with enthusiasm by governments and the public alike.The Chinese attitudes to the telegraph, however, were informed by entirely different political and cultural priorities. Baark examines the tensions which existed between the Chinese and the foreign companies seeking to extend telegraph technology to East Asian cities, and he shows how the domestic network was shaped by indigenous social and cultural forces. This book will be of considerable interest to historians of modern China, technology, and economic development.

First published in 1980, Catalogue of Chinese Manuscripts in Danish Archives is a descriptive catalogue that gives the date, address, and a summary of the contents for some 500 Chinese manuscripts in three Danish archives: the National Archives, the National Museum, and the Archives of the Great Northern Telegraph Company. The Chinese diplomatic correspondence kept in these archives form important source material for the study of Sino-Danish relations in the nineteenth century. In addition, the contents of the manuscripts shed an interesting light on the way Chinese and foreign diplomacy at the lowest level was conducted during the crucial years of Sino-Western relations. The book contains an introduction and two indexes, one for the names mentioned in the addresses, and one for the subjects and names mentioned in the summaries. The book will appeal to students of history, political science, international relations and diplomacy.

First published in 1980, Catalogue of Chinese Manuscripts in Danish Archives is a descriptive catalogue that gives the date, address, and a summary of the contents for some 500 Chinese manuscripts in three Danish archives: the National Archives, the National Museum, and the Archives of the Great Northern Telegraph Company. The Chinese diplomatic correspondence kept in these archives form important source material for the study of Sino-Danish relations in the nineteenth century. In addition, the contents of the manuscripts shed an interesting light on the way Chinese and foreign diplomacy at the lowest level was conducted during the crucial years of Sino-Western relations. The book contains an introduction and two indexes, one for the names mentioned in the addresses, and one for the subjects and names mentioned in the summaries. The book will appeal to students of history, political science, international relations and diplomacy.

The need to study the effects of technology and science in development has been increasingly emphasized in recent years. At the same time, India and China have emerged on the world scene as large developing countries with rich, often contrasting, experiences of the application of technology and science to development. Comparative research on the Indian and Chinese experiences thus carries a great potential for a further elucidation of this subject. This book, first published in 1981, is intended to provide a basis for further research in this direction.