Editing Age of Enlightenment (section)

===China===
[[File:Matteo Ricci 2.jpg|thumb|Italian [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] priest [[Matteo Ricci]] worked with several Chinese elites, such as [[Xu Guangqi]], in translating ''[[Euclid's Elements]]'' into Chinese.]]
Eighteenth-century China experienced "a trend towards seeing fewer dragons and miracles, not unlike the disenchantment that began to spread across the Europe of the Enlightenment."<ref name=":0"/> Furthermore, "some of the developments that we associate with Europe's Enlightenment resemble events in China remarkably."<ref name=":0"/> During this time, ideals of Chinese society were reflected in "the reign of the [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] emperors [[Kangxi Emperor|Kangxi]] and [[Qianlong Emperor|Qianlong]]; China was posited as the incarnation of an enlightened and [[meritocracy|meritocratic]] society—and [[instrumentalism|instrumentalized]] for criticisms of [[absolute monarchy|absolutist]] rule in Europe."<ref name=":0" />