Sojourners in a Strange Land

Jesuits and Their Scientific Missions in Late Imperial China

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, History, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences
Cover of the book Sojourners in a Strange Land by Florence C. Hsia, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Florence C. Hsia ISBN: 9780226355610
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: April 15, 2011
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Florence C. Hsia
ISBN: 9780226355610
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: April 15, 2011
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

Though Jesuits assumed a variety of roles as missionaries in late imperial China, their most memorable guise was that of scientific expert, whose maps, clocks, astrolabes, and armillaries reportedly astonished the Chinese. But the icon of the missionary-scientist is itself a complex myth. Masterfully correcting the standard story of China Jesuits as simple conduits for Western science, Florence C. Hsia shows how these missionary-scientists remade themselves as they negotiated the place of the profane sciences in a religious enterprise.

Sojourners in a Strange Land develops a genealogy of Jesuit conceptions of scientific life within the Chinese mission field from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Analyzing the printed record of their endeavors in natural philosophy and mathematics, Hsia identifies three models of the missionary man of science by their genres of writing: mission history, travelogue, and academic collection. Drawing on the history of early modern Europe’s scientific, religious, and print culture, she uses the elaboration and reception of these scientific personae to construct the first collective biography of the Jesuit missionary-scientist’s many incarnations in late imperial China. 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Though Jesuits assumed a variety of roles as missionaries in late imperial China, their most memorable guise was that of scientific expert, whose maps, clocks, astrolabes, and armillaries reportedly astonished the Chinese. But the icon of the missionary-scientist is itself a complex myth. Masterfully correcting the standard story of China Jesuits as simple conduits for Western science, Florence C. Hsia shows how these missionary-scientists remade themselves as they negotiated the place of the profane sciences in a religious enterprise.

Sojourners in a Strange Land develops a genealogy of Jesuit conceptions of scientific life within the Chinese mission field from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Analyzing the printed record of their endeavors in natural philosophy and mathematics, Hsia identifies three models of the missionary man of science by their genres of writing: mission history, travelogue, and academic collection. Drawing on the history of early modern Europe’s scientific, religious, and print culture, she uses the elaboration and reception of these scientific personae to construct the first collective biography of the Jesuit missionary-scientist’s many incarnations in late imperial China. 

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book The Emotions of Protest by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book Dreaming in French by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book Homeschooling by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book The Invention of World Religions by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book School, Society, and State by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book On the Origin of Language by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book A Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book The Scattered Family by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book Aristotle's "Politics" by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book The Jack-Roller by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book Pick Up the Pieces by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book The Longevity Seekers by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book Economy of Words by Florence C. Hsia
Cover of the book The World the Game Theorists Made by Florence C. Hsia
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy