Prospero Intorcetta S.J.: Sapientia Sinica ed Epistolario (I parte)

Luisa M. Paternicò; Davor Antonucci

doi:10.6093/978-88-6719-319-6

Prospero Intorcetta S.J.: Sapientia Sinica ed Epistolario (I parte)

Authors

Luisa M. Paternicò

University of Naples L'Orientale

Davor Antonucci

Sapienza Università di Roma

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6093/978-88-6719-319-6

Keywords:

Prospero Intorcetta, Jesuit missions in China, Confucianism, Rites Controversy, Europe–China cultural dialogue

Synopsis

Publisher: UniorPress

Series: Miscellaneous

Pages: 586

Language: Italian

Abstract: 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.

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Author Biographies

Luisa M. Paternicò, University of Naples L'Orientale

Luisa M. Paternicò (PhD in Civilizations, cultures e societies of Asia and Africa at Sapienza University of Rome, 2011), is Full Professor of Chinese Language at the Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies of “L’Orientale” University of Naples, where she teaches Chinese Language at both Bachelor and Master degree levels. She is also Program Coordinator for the Degree Course in Oriental and African Languages and President of the Area Council for Asian and African Studies. Her research interests include history of sinology, history of Chinese linguistics and of Chinese language teaching, together with modern didactics of Chinese language. She is one of the editors of Martino Martini’s Opera Omnia (vols. IV, V, VI). Other monographs: When the Europeans Began to study Chinese (Leuven, 2013); with V. Varriano - H. Tian, Grammatica della lingua cinese (Turin 2021). Main journal articles: “Translating the Master. The Contribution of Prospero Intorcetta to the Confucius Sinarum Philosophus”, Monumenta serica 65.1 (2017); “Shaping Cantonese Grammar – Early Western Contribution”, Histoire Epistémologie Langage 41, 1 (2019); “Italian Sinology: honoring the tradition, facing the present and securing a future”, Journal of Chinese History 78.4 (2023).

Davor Antonucci, Sapienza Università di Roma

Davor ANTONUCCI, PhD in Civilizations, Cultures, and Societies of Asia and Africa from Sapienza University of Rome, is an associate professor at the same university, where he teaches Modern and Ancient Chinese History, Mongolian History, and East Asian History. His research focuses on the history of China and Tartary in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Italian presence in China, and relations between China, Mongolia, and Europe. He has published several studies on these topics. Since 2022, he has been leading a research project entitled “Database of Biographies of Italians in China: 1866–1911 (DBIC 1866–1911).” He is also one of the editors of the Opera Omnia of Martino Martini (vols. V, VI). Among his recent publications: “Marco Polo nella letteratura missionaria dei secoli XVI-XIX”, in Marco Polo. Storia e mito di un viaggio e di un libro, Samuela Simion, Eugenio Burgio (eds.), Carocci editore; “Il movimento pan-mongolo. Dalle origini alla nascita della Repubblica popolare mongola”, in Andrea Carteny, Paolo Pizzolo (eds.), Il pan-nazionalismo in Eurasia e il mito del Turan. Protagonisti, correnti ideologiche ed espressioni intellettuali, Aracne, Roma, 2023.