Prospero Intorcetta S.J. : Sapientia Sinica ed Epistolario (I parte) / Luisa M. Paternicò and Davor Antonucci

Abstract (translated from Italian):

This volume is dedicated to the Sicilian Jesuit missionary Prospero Intorcetta (1625–1696) and his early writings, and forms part of a broader project aimed at producing a critical edition of his complete works, including his extensive correspondence. The texts are presented in facsimile or in transcription from the originals, accompanied by an Italian translation and a substantial critical apparatus designed to facilitate comprehension and to identify sources.

A central figure in the Jesuit mission in China, Intorcetta was a profound connoisseur of the Confucian thought and played a key role in its dissemination in Europe. He also held high offices within the Society of Jesus, which led him to report to Rome on missionary strategies during the Rites Controversy. In this context, he advocated forward-looking positions, including the training of a local clergy and the translation of canonical texts into Chinese, as well as the use of the Chinese language in liturgy.

The volume includes an updated chronology of Intorcetta’s life and works, his autobiography up to 1672, a first section of his correspondence (1646–1673), and a critical edition of the Sapientia Sinica (1662), which contains translations of the Confucian classics Great Learning and Analects (Books I–V), as well as a short biography of Confucius. The materials gathered, as the result of research conducted in numerous international archives, constitute a significant contribution to Sinological studies, missiology, and the history of the cultural exchange and dialogue between Europe and China.

Luisa M. Paternicò, “Two powers without cannons: The late-Qing government and the Holy See” -- Gail King, “Spaces for belief: Christianity, women, and accommodation in seventeenth-century China” -- Adrian Dudink, “The Zikawei 徐家匯 manuscript copy (1885) of Wang Zheng’s Renhui yue 仁會約 (Rules of the Humanitarian Society, 1634)” -- Phebe Xu Gray 徐秀麗, “Biographical sketch of Herbert Allen Giles (1845-1935)”-- Mario Cams, “The discovery of Chinese Rites Controversy documents in a branch of the Bibliothèque nationale de France” [Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal] -- Translation of the Journal of Lucas Augstinus Ly (Li Shiyin 李世音, Chinese Catholic priest), Part III: 1751-1752” (Joseph Ruellen translated, Robert Entenmann annotated). [ for Parts I-II, see SWCRJ 33-34 (2011-12) ]

Reviews:
J. Marinescu of N. Golvers, Libraries of Western learning for China (2012); L. Brockey of N. Golvers, Portuguese books and their readers in the Jesuit mission of China (17th – 18th centuries) (2011); D. Mungello of M. Kollár, Ein Leben im Konflikt: P. Franz Xaver Biallas SVD (1878-1936). Chinamissionar and Sinologe im Licht seiner Korres-pondenz (2011); Joseph Tse-Hei Lee 李榭熙 of John T.P. Lai (ed.) Negotiating religious gaps: The enterprise of translating Christian tracts by Protestant missionaries in nineteenth-century China (2012); D. Mungello of the Chinese translation by Cui Huajie 崔华杰 (Nanjing, 2011) of Tiedemann’s Violence and fear in North China: Christian mission and social conflict on the eve of the Boxer Uprising (unpublished doctoral thesis of 1991).

"Through the comparative analysis of the extant copies in both manuscript and printed form, and at the same time trying to separate the contribution to the original work given by other scholars who possessed it, the present study aims at reconstructing the evolution course of Martini's grammar from the older Grammatica Sinica to the refined and annotated copy of the Grammatica Linguae Sinensis. This last version is included into this study in annotated transcript and English translation"--Page 4 of cover.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-290).

Local access dig.pdf. [Paternico-Martini Grammatica.pdf]