Four Editions of Couplet's Biography of Madame Candida Xu

Author:

King, Gail

Format:

Journal Article

Year:

2009

Journal Title:

Sino-Western Cultural Relations Journal

Volume:

31

Language:

English

Abstract:

The article compares and contrasts four European versions of the biography of Chinese Catholic Church benefactor Madame Candida Xu (1607–1680) written by Jesuit missionary to China Philippe Couplet. The book first appeared in French in 1688, but was later translated and published in Flemish in 1694, Italian in 1700, and Spanish in 1691. The seventeenth century Catholic Church processes to gain ecclesiastic approval of religious works are discussed. The author notes that the Italian edition was not a strict translation of the earlier printed versions, but was rewritten based on the French version. Illustrations appearing in the books are compared.

Who (Jesuits):

Couplet, Philippe, 1623–1693

What (Subjects):

Missions -- Writings -- Biographies

History of Books

Where (Locations):

Asia -- China

When (Centuries):

17th century

Page Range:

56–63

ISSN:

1041-875X