Title: Introduction to Alexander von Humboldt: The Americas, China, Central Asia and the World

Abstract: This article is an introduction to this Humboldt research column. It is intended to briefly explain the long life and great works of Alexander von Humboldt. It not only lays out the educational background, mental state and scientific research activities of the Prussian naturalist and cultural scientist, but also introduces the writing resources of his work, the many disciplines involved, his connection to many branches of science, and his ability to think about and integrate it into a natural painting. In Humboldt’s view, aesthetics and ethics are one, and the Americas and Asia are also incorporated into his “Universe” based on their own experiences, and all these are integrated into a broad global knowledge.

Keywords: Alexander von Humboldt, natural painting, Humboldt-style science, Humboldt-style writing, interdisciplinarity, nature and culture

Author: Ottmar Ette, Professor, Institute for Romance Studies, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany; Professor, Foreign Studies College, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan, China.

 Introduction.pdf