Matteo Ricci and the Missionary Role in the Evolution of Chinese Lexicon

This is a systematic study of Matteo Ricci’s (1552–610) enormous impact on the development of modern scientific and intellectual terminology in China.

Taking the Sino‑estern cultural exchanges initiated by Western Jesuit missionaries in the late‑ing dynasty as its starting point, this book comprehensively presents the new terms coined by Ricci (and his collaborators) in his religious, geographical, geometrical, and astronomical Chinese writings. It uses a multitude of examples adopted from Ricci’s Chinese works as well as from ancient Chinese documents to discuss etymological evolution. Ricci’s early coinages of terms and their subsequent history demonstrate the role of interaction and scholarly collaboration between the late Ming Jesuits and Chinese intellectuals in the formation of modern Chinese lexicon. The research conclusions of this book will further advance Ming‑ynasty studies and contribute to a new understanding of the creation of modern Chinese lexicon.

This book is a vital resource for students, scholars, and linguists studying and researching in the history of Chinese and early Mandarin. This volume will also be very interesting among students and scholars of Chinese literature and history, particularly among scholars who work in Ming history and literature.

The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license

1145605021
Matteo Ricci and the Missionary Role in the Evolution of Chinese Lexicon

This is a systematic study of Matteo Ricci’s (1552–610) enormous impact on the development of modern scientific and intellectual terminology in China.

Taking the Sino‑estern cultural exchanges initiated by Western Jesuit missionaries in the late‑ing dynasty as its starting point, this book comprehensively presents the new terms coined by Ricci (and his collaborators) in his religious, geographical, geometrical, and astronomical Chinese writings. It uses a multitude of examples adopted from Ricci’s Chinese works as well as from ancient Chinese documents to discuss etymological evolution. Ricci’s early coinages of terms and their subsequent history demonstrate the role of interaction and scholarly collaboration between the late Ming Jesuits and Chinese intellectuals in the formation of modern Chinese lexicon. The research conclusions of this book will further advance Ming‑ynasty studies and contribute to a new understanding of the creation of modern Chinese lexicon.

This book is a vital resource for students, scholars, and linguists studying and researching in the history of Chinese and early Mandarin. This volume will also be very interesting among students and scholars of Chinese literature and history, particularly among scholars who work in Ming history and literature.

The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license

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Matteo Ricci and the Missionary Role in the Evolution of Chinese Lexicon

Matteo Ricci and the Missionary Role in the Evolution of Chinese Lexicon

by Zhao Ming
Matteo Ricci and the Missionary Role in the Evolution of Chinese Lexicon

Matteo Ricci and the Missionary Role in the Evolution of Chinese Lexicon

by Zhao Ming

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Overview

This is a systematic study of Matteo Ricci’s (1552–610) enormous impact on the development of modern scientific and intellectual terminology in China.

Taking the Sino‑estern cultural exchanges initiated by Western Jesuit missionaries in the late‑ing dynasty as its starting point, this book comprehensively presents the new terms coined by Ricci (and his collaborators) in his religious, geographical, geometrical, and astronomical Chinese writings. It uses a multitude of examples adopted from Ricci’s Chinese works as well as from ancient Chinese documents to discuss etymological evolution. Ricci’s early coinages of terms and their subsequent history demonstrate the role of interaction and scholarly collaboration between the late Ming Jesuits and Chinese intellectuals in the formation of modern Chinese lexicon. The research conclusions of this book will further advance Ming‑ynasty studies and contribute to a new understanding of the creation of modern Chinese lexicon.

This book is a vital resource for students, scholars, and linguists studying and researching in the history of Chinese and early Mandarin. This volume will also be very interesting among students and scholars of Chinese literature and history, particularly among scholars who work in Ming history and literature.

The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781032789965
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Publication date: 12/26/2025
Series: Interdisciplinary and Transcultural Approaches to Chinese Literature
Pages: 230
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Zhao Ming, Ph.D. (2014), Peking University, is Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests include Chinese lexicology, the missionary role in the evolution of Chinese lexicon, and the relationship between language and culture. He has recently published Cultural Semantics in the Lexicon of Modern Chinese.

Table of Contents

1. The historical background to Ricci’s missionary role in the evolution of the Chinese lexicon  2. Religious terms coined by Matteo Ricci  3. Geographical names and terminology coined by Matteo Ricci  4. Geometrical terms coined by Matteo Ricci and Xú Guāngq ǐ徐光啟  5. Astronomical terms coined by Matteo Ricci and Lǐ Zhīzǎo 李之藻  6. Terms coined by Matteo Ricci and Michele Ruggieri  7. Ricci’s missionary role in the evolution of the Chinese lexicon

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