birth of orientalism, The
Book Description
The Birth of Orientalism reveals a fascinating chapter in humanity's spiritual evolution that challenges everything we thought we knew about East-West religious encounters. Urs App uncovers how our modern understanding of Asian spirituality emerged not from nineteenth-century colonial expansion, but through a centuries-long process driven primarily by religious curiosity rather than political ambition.
Drawing from sources in twelve languages, many previously untranslated, App traces the remarkable journey of European discovery of Asian religions from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. This sweeping narrative demonstrates how encounters with Japanese and Chinese wisdom traditions gradually shifted Western attention toward India as the perceived birthplace of ancient spiritual knowledge.
The book reveals startling discoveries about texts long considered India's most ancient scriptures, showing how some were actually created by eighteenth-century European scholars. More profoundly, it explores how exposure to Asian religious documents fundamentally transformed European intellectual life. Suddenly, biblical narratives faced competition from seemingly older Chinese and Indian texts, Sanskrit emerged as a potential rival to Hebrew as humanity's original language, and Judeo-Christian traditions appeared as one local expression within a vast global tapestry of spiritual wisdom.
For modern seekers exploring diverse spiritual paths, this scholarly work illuminates the complex historical roots of our contemporary interfaith landscape. App shows how fundamental questions of human identity and origin demanded fresh answers as traditional religious authority encountered the profound depths of Asian spiritual traditions.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Long (> 400 pages) (~15 hours)
📄 Length: 550 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Orientalism
- ✓ Explore Religion, study and teaching
- ✓ Explore Orientalisme
- ✓ Explore Asia, religion
- ✓ Explore Religions
- ✓ Explore Europe, intellectual life
- ✓ Explore Religion
- ✓ Explore Study and teaching
