The Jesuit mission in China (17th-18th cent.) as the framework for the circulation of knowledge between Europe and China

The circulation of Western knowledge (in its broadest sense) can be described from various angles. Relying on an overall evidence collected in the last 20 years, I focus on the various routes (especially less well-known “viae”), the media used as carriers (printed books; periodicals; correspondence; illustrations; objects and instruments; oral contacts), and the places where these exchanges happened. Particular attention I pay to the two-sided character of this exchange and the ‘intercultural’ crossing and interaction between Western / Chinese books, illustrations, and forms / techniques of knowledge. All in all, this evidence undeniably shows the primary role of the Jesuit mission as communication route between cultures, the enormous volume of exchanged knowledge and the gigantic personal and collective involvement in this process.

Number: 36