Cover: Xi'an Jesuit stele (1644) rubbing, Xaverian Museum of Chinese Art and Ethnography in Parma, Italy (original size: cm 143 x 63.5)
1. Jonathan Chaves 齊皎瀚: Two Sonnets in Memoriam.
2. Xiaoxin Wu 吳小新: Necrology & Bibliography of J.W. Witek, SJ 魏若望.
18. Roman Malek, SVD 馬雷凱: Legacy of Pasquale d’Elia, SJ 德禮賢 (1890-1963).
63. Matteo Nicolini-Zani 馬明哲: Tang Christianity as Perceived by Missionaries & Chinese Converts in the Seventeenth Century.
89. Reviews: Chronique du Toumet-Ortos : looking through the lens of Joseph Van Oost, missionary in Inner Mongolia (1915-1921) by Ann Heylen. Review by Jocelyn M.N. Marinescu 倪卓熙 ; 歐洲所藏雍正乾隆朝天主教文獻匯編 / 吳旻. Review by D.E.M.

Nicolas Standaert 鍾鳴旦: Dutch, Flemish and German engravings presented to the Kangxi Emperor.
Matteo Nicolini-Zani 馬明哲: Was Xu Guangqi the author of the Tie shizi zhu 鐵十字著 (1627) which promotes the Iron Cross as a Christian relic?
Noël Golvers 高華士: Jesuit correspondence from China: the two ‘Tartary-Letters’ of Ferdinand Verbiest, SJ, (1682 & 1683) and their oldest printed edition (Paris, 1684) as a case study.
Hartmut Walravens 魏漢茂: Der vergessene Castiglione-Experte George Robert Loehr und seine Briefe an Walter Fuchs.
Review article: [D.E. Mungello], Turning the wheel in Sino-Western history.

Matteo Nicolini-Zani’s article includes English translation: A Clarification about an Iron Cross [Instruction on the “Song of the Iron Cross”] by Xu Guangqi, posthumously called Wending 文定.

-----------------------------------------

EUCHINA notice:

1) pp. 1-27: Nicolas Standaert, “Dutch, Flemish and German engravings presented to the Kangxi emperor”. concerns BAV Borgia Cinese 318 (2) [1708] and 316 (17) [1720], describing engravings (which themselves are missing) identified as coming from resp. 'Theatrum Biblicum' (1639/1643, Claes Visscher ed.) and 'Biblisches Engel- u. Kunst Werck' (1694, Johann Kraus comp.).
2) pp. 28-42: Matteo Nicolini-Zani, “Was Xu Guangqi the author of the 'Tie shizi zhu' 鐵十字著 (1627) which promotes the iron cross as a Christian relic?” [with Chinese text and English translation; the attribution to Xu is supported]

3) pp. 43-58, Noël Golvers, “Jesuit correspondence from China: The two ‘Tartary letters’ of Ferdinand Verbiest, SJ (1682 & 1683) and their oldest printed edition (Paris, 1684) as a case study”. [pp. 43-55; p. 56/57: references; p. 57/58: two additional notes]

4) pp. 59-73, Hartmut Walravens, “Der vergessene Castiglione-Experte George Robert Loehr and seine Briefe an Walter Fuchs”. [pp. 59-61; pp. 62-71: the text of seven letters; pp. 71-73: list of Loehr’s publications]

5) pp. 74-91, reviews:
a) pp. 74-81, David Mungello, “Turning the wheel in Sino-Western history” on four recent books about Johann Schreck: 2016 (von Collani /Zettl eds.), 2014 (Deiwiks /Geulen eds.), 2006 (Iannacone, 'L’amico di Galileo'), 2007 (Langner, 'Kopernikus in der Verbotenen Stadt');
b) pp. 81-84, Jocelyn Marinescu, on volume 3 of Golvers, Libraries of Western learning for China (2015);
c) pp. 84-87, David Mungello, on Paul Katz, 'Religion in China and its modern fate' (2014);
d) pp. 88-91, Wu Huiyi on Thierry Meynard, 'The Jesuit reading of Confucius' (2015).

The interpretation of Tang Christianity in the Late Ming China mission : Manuel Dias Jr.'s correct explanation of the Tang "Stele Eulogy on the Luminous Teaching" (1644) / by Matteo Nicolini-Zani.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
English text, partially translated from the Chinese.

Cover illustration: Manuel Dias Jr., Tang jingjiao beisong zhengquan 唐景教碑頌正詮 [Correct Explanation of the Tang Stele Eulogy on the Luminous Teaching] (Wulin [Hangzhou]: Tianzhutang, 1644), copy Bodleian Library Sinica 2643, frontispiece (unnumbered folio), courtesy of The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford.

The book contains the first annotated English translation of the Correct Explanation of the Tang “Stele Eulogy on the Luminous Teaching” (1644) by the Jesuit Manuel Dias Jr. and other late Ming Chinese Christian sources interpreting the “venerable ancestor” of the Jesuit mission, namely, the mission of the Church of the East in Tang China.
Based on this documentation, the book reconstructs the process of “appropriation” by Jesuit missionaries and their Chinese converts of ancient traces of Christianity that were discovered in China in the first half of the seventeenth century, such as the Xi’an stele (781) and other Christian relics.

Local access dig.pdf. [Nicolini-Zani-Tang Christianity.pdf]

Contents
Preface vii
Abbreviations ix
List of Figures xiii
Introduction
1 A Venerable Ancestor: The Appropriation of Tang Christianity by Jesuit Missionaries and Chinese Converts 
1 The Context: The Tang Christian Stele and Its Interpretations 
2 The Precious Stele: A Foundation Stone for the Seventeenth-Century China Mission 
3 The Holy Crosses: The Xi’an Stone Confirmed by Other Ancient
Traces of Christianity in China 
2 A Multi-Level Commentary: The Correct Explanation of the Tang “Stele Eulogy on the Luminous Teaching” by Manuel Dias Jr. 
1 Between Interpretation, Instruction, and Apology: The Contents 
2 A Complex Work with a Long Life: The Structure, Editions, and Reprints 
3 The Man behind the Text: The Author 

Annotated Translation
Preliminary Note on the Translation “Correct Explanation of the Tang Stele Eulogy on the Luminous Teaching” (Tang jingjiao beisong zhengquan 唐景教碑頌正詮) by Manuel Dias Jr., s.j. 
Preface 
《景教流行中國碑頌并序》[Ancient Traces of the Heavenly Studies] 

Correct Explanation of the Stele Eulogy on the Diffusion of the Luminous Teaching in China 

Appendix 1: “After Reading the Stele Inscription of the Luminous Teaching” (Du jingjiao beishu hou 讀景教碑書後, 1625) By Li Zhizao 李之藻
Appendix 2: “Stele Inscription for the Church of the Luminous Teaching” ( Jingjiaotang beiji 景教堂碑記, between 1625 and 1627) By Xu Guangqi 徐光啟 
Appendix 3: “A Clarification about an Iron Cross” (Tie shizi zhu 鐵十字 著, 1627) By Xu Guangqi 徐光啟
Appendix 4: “Preface to the Stele with a Cross Unearthed in Wurong” (Wurong chudi shizijia beixu 武榮出地十字架碑序, 1633) By Zhang Geng 張賡
Appendix 5: “A Poem in Honor of Giulio Aleni, s.j.” (Late Ming dynasty) By Ke Xianshi 柯憲世
Appendix 6: “Outline of the Orthodox Way of the Lord of Heaven” (Tianzhu zhengdao jielüe 天主正道解略, 1644) 
Appendix 7: “A Study of the Luminous Teaching” ( Jingjiao kao 景教考, ca. 1644) By Qian Qianyi 錢謙益
Bibliography 
Index 

The Luminous Way to the East : texts and history of the first encounter of Christianity with China /  Matteo Nicolini-Zani ; translated by William Skudlarek.

Translated from the Italian: Via radiosa per l'Oriente.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-382) and index.

PART I: A History of Encounters
1.“The Luminous Breeze Blew Eastward”: The Church of the East from Persia to China. - The Missionary Dynamism of the Church of the East -- Christian Archaeological Traces in Asia in the First Millennium -- Christian Literature in the Languages of Central Asia -- The Meeting of Religions on the Silk Road.

2. “The Brilliant Teaching Turned toward the Tang Empire”: The Christian Presence in China between 635 and 845 --Chinese Designations of Tang Christianity -- A Chronicle of the Events Attested by the Sources -- The Composition and Structure of Christian Communities -- The Geographical Location of Christian Monasteries

3. “The Scriptures Were Translated”: The First Christian Texts in Chinese -- The 781 Xi’an Stele: A Monument “Celebrating the Eminent and Meritorious Events” -- The 815 Luoyang Pillar: A Memorial Stone “Granting the Luminous Blessings” -- The “Dunhuang” Manuscripts: A Summary of Research -- The Production and Literary Form of the Texts -- The Content of the Texts.

PART II: The Texts in Translation
Notes on Sources -- The Reference Editions of the Translated Texts -- The Transcriptions of Foreign Names
Text A:
Stele of the Diffusion of the Luminous Teaching of Da Qin in China (Da Qin jingjiao liuxing Zhongguo bei 大秦景教流行中國碑)
Text B:
1. Hymn in Praise of the Salvation Achieved through the Three Majesties of the Luminous Teaching (Jingjiao sanwei mengdu
zan 景教三威蒙度讚)
2. Book of the Honored (Zunjing 尊經)
Text C:
Discourse on the One God (Yishen lun 一神論)
I. Discourse on the One Godhead (Yitian lun diyi 一天論第一)
II. Metaphorical Teaching (Yu di'er 喻第二)
III. Discourse of the Honored One of the Universe on Almsgiving (Shizun bushi lun disan 世尊布施論第三)
Text D:
Book of the Lord Messiah (Xuting mishisuo jing 序聽迷詩所經)
Text E:
Book on Profound and Mysterious Blessedness (Zhixuan anle jing 志玄安樂經)
Text F:
Book of the Luminous Teaching of Da Qin on Revealing the Origin and Reaching the Foundation (*Da Qin jingjiao xuanyuan zhiben jing 大秦景教宣元至本經)

"The Missionary Dynamism of the Church of the East It would be an attractive undertaking for the historian to be able to follow in the footsteps of those heralds of the Gospel, who went forth from Antioch with firmness and tenacity in those early days making their way to the East . . . building new centers of Christian irradiation, creating communities and spreading the doctrine of Jesus everywhere. The interest would certainly grow if we were familiar with the challenges faced by these first evangelizers on their way to the Far East. Gaining that knowledge, however, is no easy task. Christ's teaching had to cover immense distances on its road from Antioch towards the East. . . . The details of this diffusion, however, remain obscure. There are no Acts of the Apostles, no Letters of Saint Paul, no contemporary or near-contemporary documents that might tell us how and when Christianity from the region of the Euphrates and the Tigris crossed over the mountainous regions of the Orient, how through Media and Parthia it went south to Herat and Segestan, and how it penetrated eastward, crossing the Margiana (Merv), into the region of the Oxus and the Jaxartes, and finally how it entered today's Russian province of Semireč'e, then Turfan, and then further south into the heart of China"-- Provided by publisher.

Local access dig.pdf. [Nicolini-Zan-The luminous way to the East.pdf]