Alexander von Humboldt starts his “Critical Inquiries” in 1852 withthe observation that the miscalculation of one authority has triggeredmany forms of human action in exploring the planet. It is for him theact of travelling that generates knowledge and ultimately drives forwardhuman intellectual progress, even if the travellers themselves might bemisguided. Human triggers and reasons for travelling can be numerous,but Humboldt also indicated that the mental mapping of the world mightprovoke individual difficulties in reconciling preconceived constructionsof space with the encountered human geography. This process of curiosityand its individual and collective processing in configuring, reflecting, andreadjusting knowledge and identities about Asia is the topic of this book.