A Manchu in Conquistador's Clothing: Jesuit Visualizations of the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties
- Format:
- Dissertation
- Year:
- 2016
- University:
- University of Colorado at Denver
- University URL:
- Thesis type:
- Master's Thesis
- Place published:
- Denver
- Abstract:
Upon their arrival in China, priests of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, quickly began writing their opinions and observations of the Ming Dynasty, of the Manchu invasion, and of the subsequent Qing Dynasty. These priests arrived in China with both secular and religious goals, and these goals created the context for their comments, coloring their writings. However, when the Jesuits praised the Qing Dynasty, they began to use particularly European metaphors in their descriptions of the Manchus, from appearance and mannerisms to policies. While the Jesuit descriptions serve as informative material, they are not objective, detached observations. In terms of their opinions, Jesuit writings offer historians critical information about the Jesuits themselves and about the Manchus as a distinctively non-Chinese dynasty, despite their efforts to Sinofy themselves in the eyes of the Han Chinese majority.
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