The China Platform at Ghent University is announcing the publication of a new book “A Belgian Passage to China (1870-1930) and expo “Souvenirs de Chine: the Story of Belgian Engineers and Doctors in China, 1905-1908”.

The book was edited by Johan J. Mattelaer and Mathieu Torck in collaboration with Charles Lagrange, Roland Dussart-Desart, Patrick Maselis and Thomas Baert. The book contains unique and never before published documents, letters and photos.

Between 1870 and 1914, Belgium – at that time one of the major financial and industrial powers – and its engineers financed, built and operated hundreds of kilometers of train and tram lines across the five continents. The Western sense of superiority and King Leopold II’s colonial ambitions were the main driving forces behind these enterprises. In China, this adventure materialized in the construction of the railway line between Beijing and Hankou and a tram network in Tianjin.

A Belgian Passage to China (1870-1930) brings a forgotten episode of Belgium’s overseas history into the limelight. It highlights two projects. François Nuyens left Ghent for the city of Tianjin in 1905 where he built a power station and a tram network. In a well-documented diary Nuyens writes down his impressions of his stay in China between 1905 and 1908.

Brothers Philippe and Adolphe Spruyt, both of them doctors, travelled to China to oversee the medical service at the railway construction yards between Beijing and Hankou. They returned with suitcases full of Chinese antiquities. Their interesting correspondence and more than 1,200 photographic glass plates offer a unique glimpse into the daily life of China at the beginning of the 20th century.

Dr. Johan J. Mattelaer is urologist. With Sterck & De Vreese he published Roma intima. Liefde, lijf en lust (Roma intima. Love, body and lust). Mathieu Torck (PhD) is lecturer at Ghent University (Department of Languages and Cultures – Chinese Studies) and postdoctoral researcher at the Catholic University of Leuven (History Research Unit).

Contact: johan.mattelaer@skynet.be , Mathieu.Torck@UGent.be

Apart from the publication of this book, the Expo “Souvenirs de Chine: the story of Belgian engineers and doctors in China 1898-1908” will be organized from 15 October until 14 November 2020 in Paviljoen Vanhove in cooperation with STAM (Ghent City Museum).

More information about this exposition is available on this website.