1645 History of China by Semedo – Ming Dynasty

EX RARE & VALUABLE, Complete 2pts in 1 MUST SEE!

 

This is a wonderful and rare offering of the following work written in French

 

Main author: Semedo, Alvaro, 1585-1658..

 

Title details: Histoire universelle du grand royaume de la Chine / composée en Italien par le P. Aluarez Semedo portugais, de la Compagnie de Jesus ; et traduite en nostre langue par Louis Coulon P.

[ Relação da propagação da fe no reyno da China e outros adjacentes. French ]

[ De l'estat temporel de la Chine ]

[ De l'estat spirituel du Royaume de la Chine ]

 

Published: A Paris : chez Sebastien Cramoisy, imprimeur ordinaire du Roy , & de la Reyne Regente. Et Gabriel Cramoisy , 1645.

 

Physical desc.: [12], 367, [1] p. ; 23 cm.

Notes: Title page printed in red and black. The title page also has printers device.

This work is divided into two parts. The first part is entitled: "De l'estat temporel de la Chine". The second part is entitled: "De l'estat spirituel du Royaume de la Chine".

Translated from the Italian by Louis Coulon.

 

Subject: Jesuits — China —

Catholic Church — China —

Education — China —

China — History — 960-1644

China — Commerce —

China — Social life and customs — 960-1644.

 

Other names: Coulon, Louis, 1605-1664

Cramoisy, Gabriel, fl. 1630-1664 [printer]

Cramoisy, Sébastien, 1585-1669 [printer]

 

Language: French

 

This is a wonderful volume with fantastic contents and would make a great addition to any collection. I have recently been so pleased by hearing how much my books have been delightful gifts for others. Therefore, I encourage you to think ahead…Anniversary, Birthday, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, or any other special occasion! As a book lover there is not much I would rather receive as a gift. This is one of several such works I am listing, so be sure to check out my other listings.

 

I have included a biography at the end of the listing for those interested.

 

 

Wear:  some darkening to the ancient vellum binding; see photos

Binding: tight and secure vellum binding

Pages: complete with all 367 pages; includes indexes, prefaces, and such;

Publisher: A Paris : chez Sebastien Cramoisy, imprimeur ordinaire du Roy , & de la Reyne Regente. Et Gabriel Cramoisy , 1645.

Unique features:  rare and excellent contents; ~9in X 7in

 

Please understand that I am not an expert, but only a lover of old books. I have done my best to describe these books based on my current knowledge, but nobody is perfect. I welcome any questions you may have about contents or condition. I know that the pictures do not usually do justice to the books.

 

I am not using a reserve price and hope that whoever wins considers this a treasure. Thanks again and happy bidding!

 

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS & EBAY STORE AS I DO COMBINE SHIPPING FOR MULTIPLE PURCHASES. IF 3 ITEMS ARE WON IN A 10 DAY SPAN THE ENTIRE ORDER WILL SHIP FOR FREE (USA Bidders only). International bidders will still receive combined and reduced shipping as a thank you for your kind business.

 

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“A valuable account of conditions in China at the end of the Ming dynasty was prepared by the Jesuit Alvarez Semedo. Semedo first worked as a missionary in China from 1613 to 1637. Over this period of twenty-four years he traveled widely in the interior. Like Trigault before him, Semedo was eventually sent back to Europe as procurator in Rome for the China mission. On the return voyage, he completed [the present work] at Goa in 1638. It was evidently Semedo's Portuguese version that came into the hands of Manuel de Faria y Sousa (1590-1649), the historian, who put it into historical form and order and had a Spanish translation printed in 1642. In the meantime, an Italian version was being prepared by Gianbattista Giattini under the watchful eye of the author. This text, which should probably be considered the preferred one, was soon translated into French and English. In the seventeenth century and since, Semedo's “China” has been esteemed a reliable and comprehensive firsthand account by a keen foreign observer of the growing tumult that accompanied the last years of Ming rule.”(Lach)

 

Semedo's work is fascinating and important both as a source for Chinese cultural practices, from banqueting and corporal punishment to Chinese religion and attitudes toward death. Semedo writes that " although the Chinese thought about many things that dealt with life in the same way as European philosophers, they still differed greatly with respect to death. For while the Europeans took little or no trouble at all about burials, there is nothing the Chinese considered more highly than this and they do everything they can during their life to leave everything in order and their children show their total piety and obedience and do what they wanted when they die ." Semedo also describes a funeral procession with great admiration and notes that Chinese observe a strict, three-year period of mourning.

 

Semedo provides a detailed account of the Jesuit missions in China and the politics of the Ming dynasty. Semedo was himself expelled from China along with the other Jesuits in 1616, during the persecution of Christians. He returned in 1620, assuming his Chinese name, Zhen Dezhao. By the time he left China in 1637, Semedo was greatly admired by the Chinese. A formal letter of respect to Father Semedo, written by a group of prominent men in Canton, calling Semedo "Great Teacher and Priest, Master Tseng, Great Person Removed from Office", was presented to Semedo just prior to his departure for Rome.

 

Semedo's history and his observations stimulated great interest in the West. In one famous passage, Semedo recounts the discovery of the “Nestorian stele”, a stone tablet inscribed with Chinese characters and with an engraved cross at the top. The inscription told the story of a missionary who introduced Christianity into Asia in 631 and its growth under imperial patronage until the year 781 (the date of the tablet's erection). This document later served as the inspiration for Athanasius Kircher's monumental “China Illustrata” (1667).

            

 

DeBacker Sommervogel III, 1395.11; Lach, “Asia in The Making of Europe” II, ,2,781; cf. Takahashi (on the Madrid, 1642 edition) Vol II, #91.

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On Mar-12-08 at 22:51:06 PDT, seller added the following information: