In 1318, the Irish Franciscan friar and explorer James of Ireland accompanied Friar Odoric of Pordenone to the Far East, thus becoming the first Irish person in China. Since then, encounters between the Irish and the people of China have proliferated: just as Ireland gained from the plant hunters of the late Qing dynasty, so China learned eagerly from the tactics of Irish cultural nationalism early in the twentieth century. Such fruitful exchanges were made possible by parallels in their historical development, as each grew – in only a few generations – from traditional agricultural societies into modern, globalized republics.

Whether it is China’s ecstatic welcome of Riverdance, Kerrygold butter and the prose of James Joyce, or Ireland’s reinvention of itself through its culture and newly multicultural society, these essays demonstrate, often in surprising ways, just how each nation has helped transform the other.

With a welcome message from the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, this collection of essays also celebrates four decades of Sino-Irish diplomatic relations.