Postdoc in Early Modern Chinese and East Asian History

Duties

Research in the field of early modern Chinese and East Asian socio-economic and intellectual history. The successful candidate has to focus on the examination of changing and varying concepts and perceptions, over time, of Chinese local elites, intellectuals, and officials towards trans-Pacific trade, the investigation of informal trading networks in (South-)East Asia (including the Ryūkyūs, Taiwan, and Satsuma), and the analysis of the cultural-intellectual and socio-economic impacts of trans-Pacific trade on local societies in China (especially Fujian, but also Guangdong), focusing on contraband trade and ‘piracy’ and human-environment interaction.

Research includes the investigation of Chinese documents from Ryūkyū, Taiwan, and, where necessary, Satsuma and may include documents in Manchu. In absence of own Manchu skills, other project members and external expertise can be consulted.

Further duties: Contribution to the project database, publication of articles and chapters in peer-reviewed journals and books, and active participation in the team’s international activities.