SEMEDO (Alvarez). Histoire universelle du grand Royaume de l - Lot 210

SEMEDO (Alvarez). Histoire universelle du grand Royaume de la Chine. Paris, Sébastien Cramoisy, 1645. In-4, (12)-367-(1) p., modern ivory half vellum, smooth spine, title and author in black (title faded, repairs to first 2, angular wetness). First edition of the French translation. Written in Portuguese, the original edition was published in 1641 and in Spanish in 1642 in Madrid, and in 1643 in Italian in Rome; it is this Italian version given by Giambattista Giattini that differs significantly from the Spanish text on which the French translation is based. The work is divided into two parts: De l'estat temporel de la Chine; De l'estat spirituel de la Chine. Joining the Jesuits in 1602 at the age of 17, Alvarez Semedo (1585-1658) became a missionary in China (1621), where he "distinguished himself by his zeal and courage" (De Backer), and lived until his death. A reference work on the Chinese Empire: geography, political and physical history, the people, nobility, weapons, language, education system, games, funerals, religions, Muslims, Jews and other nationalities resident in China, and the history of Christianity before the arrival of the Jesuits. (Cordier, Bibliotheca sinica, I, 24; De Backer-Sommervogel VII, 1114).