Concepts of historical progress or decline and the idea of a cycle of historical movement have
existed in many civilizations. In spite of claims that they be transnational or even universal
periodization schemes invariably reveal specific social and cultural predispositions. Our
dialogue which brings together a Sinologist and a scholar of early modern History in Europe
considers periodization as a historical phenomenon studying the case of the Renaissance.
Understood in the tradition of J. Burckhardt who referred back to ideas voiced by the
humanists of the 14th and 15th centuries and focusing on the particularities of humanist
dialogue which informed the making of the Renaissance in Italy our discussion highlights
elements that distinguish it from other movements that have proclaimed themselves as r
Renaissances studying in particular the Chinese Renaissance in the early 20th century. While
disagreeing on several fundamental issues we suggest that interdisciplinary and interregional
dialogue is a format useful to addressing some of the more far-reaching questions in global
history e.g. whether and when a periodization scheme such as Renaissance can fruitfully be
applied to describe non-European experiences.
