Search
Program Calendar
Browse By Day
Browse By Time
Browse By Person
Browse By Room
Browse By Category
Browse By Session Type
Browse By Affiliate Organization
Search Tips
2018 Convention Home
2018 Program Theme
About ASEEES
Personal Schedule
Sign In
From 1676 on Jesuits helped the Muscovites in their communication with the Chinese. As there were conflicts of interest in the Far East, both sides were looking for a compromise. The Chinese had no habit of concluding treaties on equal footing - the less with European powers - and were suspicious to the extreme. Nevertheless, the negotiations resulted in the important and long-lasting Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689), China's first treaty with a Western power at all. This achievement was mostly owed to Portuguese Jesuits. The paper will scrutinize their role as translators (Latin being the common language between the Portuguese patres on the Chinese side and a Pole on the Russian) and their much more important role as cultural interpreters who managed to bridge the gulf between the two sides.