The borderline of science: Western exploration and study of Chinese insect white wax from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century

Insect white wax is a type of biological wax, mainly produced in Jiading Fu (now Leshan, Sichuan province) in southern Sichuan province, also known as Sichuan wax. It is a special export product in China and an important source of income for local wax farmers. From the seventeenth century onward, Westerners who traveled deep into southwestern China studied the wax, including its geographical distribution, biological experiments, and production techniques. They assessed its commercial prospects and strove to introduce it to Europe and the areas it controlled. Based on the reports of the European scholars' expeditions, travelogues, conference proceedings, and correspondence, this paper examines the history of Western research on the insect white wax and aims to investigate the underlying motivations for the exploration activities, proposes the concept of object colonialism, and discusses the impact of adopting objects from their countries of origin on the world's political and economic landscape.

Automated summary

Sichuan wax, also known as insect white wax, is a type of biological wax mainly produced in Jiading Fu (now Leshan, Sichuan province) in southern Sichuan province, China. It has been studied by Westerners since the seventeenth century, who explored its geographic distribution, conducted biological experiments, and assessed its commercial prospects. This paper aims to examine the history of Western research on Sichuan wax, investigate the motivations behind exploration activities, and discuss the impact of adopting objects from their countries of origin on the world's political and economic landscape.