Note | Lot 20 was part of the Philipps-Robinson collection obtained by Fr. Edward Malatesta, S.J., in November, 1988.
Source: Sotheby’s catalog entry: The Library of Philip Robinson, Part II: the Chinese collection.
Lot 20. Chinese Rites Controversy. Collection of papers pertaining to the controversy and to the visit of Cardinal Maillard de Tournon, including copies of letters and proclamations by Tournon and the Archbishop of Goa, and account of Tournon’s audience with the Emperor, a letter by Claude Visdelou, Tournon’s only Jesuit supporter in China, letters of support from Rome and Paris, letters by Franciscans to Tournon, a list of missionaries working in China between 1706 and 1708, a memorandum concerning the translation of the Roman missal into Chinese, a memoir on the Chinese practices at funerals, and a French translation of a number of maxims of Confucius, upwards of 70 items, various sizes, some in Chinese characters, some on rice paper, c. 1705 to 1725.
鐸羅 【sic. 多羅】有關禮儀之爭論書信 (七十多件,手稿) 一七〇五到一七二五年
See catalog p.22-23.
General Notes on Lot 20:
Chinese texts are copies on rice paper in Chinese ink, probably by a secretary. Some
are marked as having been sent (to Macau?) by Fr. Pedro Muñoz, O.P. (from
Guangzhou?). Some have Latin translations, often in a fine secretarial hand, and attested by either
Andreas Candela, the Patriarch's Chancellor, or by J.F. Martin de la Balvere - both
in Macau. Some of the translations are in Spanish (by Muñoz?). The comments on the outside may be in the hand of Candela and contain details of provenance (often "con una Lettera del P. Muñoz"), summary of contents and dates. They are usually in Italian, sometimes in Latin (the Latin ones perhaps in a different hand).
Since they deal with the arrival of Pedrini & Co. early in 1710, they cannot come
from this group of Italian Propagandists, but must come from one of de Toumon's
suite, and not Sala who had already left for Europe. Some of the Chinese documents (e.g. 6, 21) have pronunciation notes added to the copy, especially re the pronunciation of names. Some (e.g. 25) have Latin notes and Italian notes in different hands. Probably all come from the Sala papers, and the annotations appear to be his, but perhaps as used later in Europe by one of the compilers of narratives of the legation, such as Cardinal Passionei. [Note by Paul Rule.]
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