“Lester Hu’s The Emperor’s New Epistemology is stunning in its erudition and interdisciplinarity. One of the book’s most significant contributions is its reassessment of the relationship between European and Chinese music theories, complicating our received historiography. By centering the role of listening within a broader epistemic transformation, Hu provides a framework that will be valuable not only for scholars of early modern China but also for those interested in global music history, sound studies, the history of music theory, and the history of science.”

Roger Mathew Grant, Wesleyan University

“The Emperor’s New Epistemology is beautifully written, meticulously researched, and bold in its theoretical claims. It explicates challenging texts with clarity and brings new insights to both canonical and lesser-known musical and phonological texts.”

Nathan Vedal, University of Toronto

“In this brilliant book, what first seems like a niche story of global encounter—Jesuits teaching music theory at the Qing court—becomes a portal to issues that go well beyond ‘China,’ ‘Europe,’ ‘encounters,’ or ‘music.’ As we follow the uses of foreign ideas, we see emperors and scholars entangled in long-running disputes about sound, text, and language; performers, artisans, and intellectuals; Manchu and Chinese; the scope of imperial authority; and the basis of knowledge itself—in both late-imperial China and Enlightenment Europe. Whatever expertise and concerns you bring to it, every page of this book will make you stop and think.”

Kenneth Pomeranz, University of Chicago