China Illustrata

Athanasius Kircher was a polymath who published around 40 major works in the field of both the humanities and the sciences. == Publication and reception==

Kircher himself had never been to China, but compiled the oral and written reports of former Jesuit missionaries to publish a summary of the knowledge on China and Tibet collected by Europeans in the 17th century. The work was published in Amsterdam in 1667 in two nearly identical and contemporaneous editions, using the same content, pagination, and illustrations. The first was published by Jacob van Meurs under his own imprint and the second was printed by him for Kircher's regular publisher, a house run by Jan Janssonius van Waesberge and Elizer Weyerstraten. These initial runs were successful and was quickly translated into Dutch (1668), English (1669 & 1673), and French (1670) shortly after the Latin original had been published in 1667. The Dutch and French translations were both published in Amsterdam by Janssonius van Waesberge but, upon the death of Weyerstraten, cocredited first to his widow and then to their legal heirs. John Ogilby's English versions only included a greatly abbreviated treatment of Kircher's work in their appendix, being principally concerned with Johan Nieuhof's account of the first Dutch embassy to Beijing and the Jesuit Johann Adam Schall von Bell's rebuttal to some of its claims and aims. The work, however, awakened great interest in China and inspired numerous further English publications on far Eastern travels and discoveries. The French edition included a discussion between Ferdinando II de' Medici, grand duke of Tuscany, and Johann Grueber and also an early ChineseFrench dictionary. However, was also criticized. Gottfried Leibniz described the book as a work of entertainment rather than serious scholarship. Egyptologist Adolf Erman agreed that Kircher had written a book for the public at large rather than for scholars. But others argue that was the first and most important writing to shape Western understanding and knowledge of China for over two hundred years. and is even today considered "an important source of information on the beginnings of western sinology and sinophilism in Europe". == Content ==

(), combining topography with Chinese mythology Kircher's work is an encyclopedia about the Chinese empire containing accurate cartography and illustrations that elucidate the vivid descriptions found in the text. The volume is a cultural account of China ranging from religious practices and social customs over languages to China's natural wonders, such as exotic plants and animals. By collecting and compiling information taken from fellow Jesuits including Matteo Ricci, Martino Martini, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, Johann Grueber and Heinrich Roth, Kircher achieves to create an authentic secondary study on Chinese people, nature and mythology. There were several reasons for Kircher to write China Illustrata. First, he wanted to promote the missionaries' work and tell about the great journeys of Europeans in China. Second, he was also driven by his strong personal interest in Chinese language and culture. He collected Chinese objects for display in his museum, a cabinet of curiosities in Rome established in 1651 and named Musaeum Kircherianum after Kircher himself. Kircher also declared that the Chinese script originated from the Egyptian hieroglyphs, since both writing systems were designed on pictorial principles. Illustrations The most important and interesting features of Kircher's bookespecially at that timeare numerous illustrations of nature, rare portraits of emperors and Jesuits, and accurate maps of China of high cartographical quality. Illustrations play an important role in most of Kircher's works and they "have a quality of ingenuity and strangeness that are particular to his century". contains a number of realistic depictions of Chinese plants and animals, but also fictitious images, such as the "Dragon and Tiger Mountain". Although Kircher himself did not create most of the images, he chose them wisely in order to elucidate the descriptions found in the text. Chapters The book is divided into six sections: :Part One explains the meaning and significance of the eighth-century Sino-Syrian monument (42 pages) :Part Two tells about various journeys undertaken in China, including the Journey of Marco Polo (78 pages) :Part Three claims parallels between Western, Indian, Chinese and Japanese Idolatry (38 pages) :Part Four gives descriptions and illustrations of the flora and fauna in China (44 pages) :Part Five talks about the architecture and mechanical arts of the Chinese (11 pages) :Part Six is concerned with the Chinese language and its relationship with the Hieroglyphic characters (12 pages) ==Editions==

• , 1667. • . • . • . • . • . • . == References ==