enlightened by china: Technology, expertise, and the making of modern france

Sébastien Pautet

Payot, 256 pages, 2026

Why you should look at it:

√ A captivating tale of industrial espionage and diplomacy that sheds new light on the Bourbon monarchy’s imperialist ambitions
√ An original approach, at the crossroads of economic history, science and cultural transfers
√ A promising young historian gifted with a narrative style and a global perspective

In 1765, two Chinese priests stowed away aboard a French ship belonging to the East India Company, entrusted with a delicate mission by Louis XV and his minister Bertin: to infiltrate the Qing Empire and uncover the secrets of Chinese manufacturing and technology in order to improve French production at the dawn of European industrialization.

 From Colbert to Napoleon, from Parisian salons to the workshops of Canton, Sebastian Pautet takes us on an incredible journey through the Age of Enlightenment. While the fashion for chinoiserie swept through homes in the form of wallpaper, porcelain, silks, and lacquer ware, the French monarchy orchestrated an ambitious industrial espionage operation in service of its imperialist ambitions in an Asia coveted by England and the rest of Europe. Jesuits, travelers, and merchants relayed valuable information on manufacturing techniques, agriculture, and mining in the Qing Empire—an empire that was otherwise closed to foreigners. Enlightenment philosophers, for their part, took a keen interest in the country’s forms of government and held up the Chinese imperial model as an example of enlightened despotism.

If the 18th century has been frequently framed as the era when the West industrialized and informed the rest of the world, Pautet explicitly inverts this narrative. His work frames the Enlightenment not just as a period of philosophical awakening, but as an era of aggressive Western dependency on Asian expertise, showing how early European industrial frameworks were built on systemic intellectual piracy of the Qing Empire. 

 Pautet’s  meticulous study challenges the traditional image of a China supposedly inspired by the West and offers a fresh perspective on the West’s fascination with the Chinese model.

Sébastien Pautet teaches at ENS Lyon and is an associate fellow at the “ICT- Les Europes dans le monde” research center at Paris Cité University. With a focus on global history, he revisits the history of trade and exchanges between Europe and Asia during the Enlightenment. His dissertation, which he defended in 2021, obtained five academic awards. Enlightened by China: Technology, Expertise, and the Making of Modern France is his first book.