Projecting on China-German Enlightenment and Volker Braun’s “Great Peace”

Abstract

This short report outlines a work in progress which aims at highlighting the role China played in the discussions of Protestantism and early enlightenment in Germany around 1700, and how this crucial phase may be re-interpreted from the standpoint of the 1980ies, when Volker Braun ’ s drama “ Great Peace ” again staged arguments illustrated with references to China. The report argues that Volker Braun ’ s play is an important document of German-Chinese intercultural dialogue, and proposes the project of making a translated version available for the dialogue.