"Diplomatic envoy, courtier, and missionary : a comparative study of Juan Cobo and Diego de Pantoja  in east-west exchanges of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries" / Peng Haitao

Published in

Historia Crítica No. 98 (2025)

Abstract. Objective/Context: This article offers a comparative analysis of two early modern missionaries—
Dominican Juan Cobo and Jesuit Diego de Pantoja—within the broader context of early globalization. While
Cobo operated in the colonial setting of Manila and engaged in diplomatic missions like the 1592 embassy to Japan, Pantoja worked at the heart of the Ming court, using scientific and cultural knowledge to promote engagement among the elite. Methodology: Drawing on primary sources and recent scholarship, this study explores the divergent evangelization strategies, political roles, and identity negotiations of these two missionaries. Originality: By situating both figures within the interconnected maritime and diplomatic networks of East Asia, the article contributes to global historical debates on cross-cultural mediation and the complex entanglements among religion, empire, and knowledge in the early modern world. Conclusions: The article argues that the trajectories of these two missionaries reflect the tensions between European imperialist ambitions and the Chinese imperial government.

Pantoja's Septem Victoriis (Qike 七克) and the Reconstruction of the Moral Authority in late Ming China / Haitao Peng.

TESI DOCTORAL UPF / 2020. DIRECTOR: Dr. Manel Ollé Rodríguez
INSTITUT D’HISTÒRIA JAUME VICENS I VIVES / DEPARTAMENT D’HUMANITATS

Includes bibliographical references (p.229-243)

Local access dig.pdf [Peng-Septem Victoriis.pdf]

See Japonica-Sinica eds. for more information

Abstract
The thesis aims to analyze the role of Septem Victoriis (Qike 七克), an moral philosophy book of the Spanish Jesuit Diego de Pantoja, in the process of the reconstruction of the moral authority in late Ming China. Since the beginning of the 16th century, China was undergoing a severe social-political crisis. The orthodox literati attributed the social-political crisis to the decline of moral authority and proposed to re-establish moral authority and the highest moral standards. The preaching of God as the source of moral principles and the ultimate goal of moral conduct in Pantoja’s book attracted the orthodox literati. They reinterpreted the book of the Spanish Jesuit and even modified it to meet their own need. As a result, Septem Victoriis (Qike 七克) wielded a specific influence in the development of moral philosophy in the late Ming and early Qing periods.

Resumen
La tesis tiene como objetivo analizar el papel de Septem Victoriis (Qike 七克), un libro de filosofía moral del jesuita español Diego de Pantoja, en el proceso de reconstrucción de la autoridad moral a finales del período Ming. Desde principios del siglo XVI, China atravesaba una grave crisis sociopolítica. Los literati ortodoxos atribuyeron la crisis sociopolítica al declive de la autoridad moral y propusieron restablecerlo y los más altos estándares de moralidad. La predicación de Dios como fuente de principios morales y el objetivo final de la conducta moral en el libro de Pantoja atrajo a los literatu ortodoxos. Reinterpretaron el libro del jesuita español e incluso lo modificaron para satisfacer sus propias necesidades. Por este motivo, Septem Victoriis (Qike 七克) ejerció una influencia específica en el desarrollo de la filosofía moral en el período de finales de Ming y principios de Qing.