Plato Goes to China: The Greek Classics and Chinese Nationalism

  In this new book, Bartsch highlights China’s interpretation (and misinterpretation) of the Greek classics as a way to better understand the culture itself. In various accounts running from the Jesuits to Xi Jinping, Plato Goes to China (Princeton University Press) explores the country’s readings of ancient writers including Plato, Aristotle, and Thucydides. Bartsch ultimately shows how Chinese thinkers have recast Greek classics to support the country’s political agenda, assert its superiority, and diagnose the ills of the West.