Jesuits as Translators and Cultural Interpreters between Muscovy and China

• In Event: Pre-Modern Translations: From Kyiv to Nerchinsk

Abstract

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.

Author

• Nada Boskovska, U of Zurich (Switzerland)