In January 2023, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House released A Study on Der Neue Welt-Bott: Based on the Letters from China, a new book by Ke Hui.
According to Chinese Christian Studies, the book records the livelihood of Chinese people and the missionary work carried out in China during the Qing Dynasty, from the perspective of Jesuits who came to China more than 200 years ago.
Der Neue Welt-Bott (The New World Messenger) is a German Jesuit journal compiled in the 18th century by Jesuit Joseph Stöcklein and his companions. During that time, the Roman Catholic Church strictly prohibited Catholic missionaries from accommodating Chinese etiquette, as the traditional etiquette of the Chinese was in serious conflict with the Catholic faith. Thereafter, the Qing government began to implement a total ban on religion, making life increasingly difficult for the missionaries in China. Still, the missionaries kept telling people in Europe about the lives of Chinese people and missionary work in China. They did this either by doing their ministry in secret in the different provinces or by working at the Qing court so they could stay in Beijing legally. Some of these messengers were Jesuits who went to China in the early and middle parts of the Qing Dynasty, like Jérôme Franchi, Xavier Ehrenbert Fridelli, Ferdinand Verbiest, Florian Bahr, etc., who were not well-known at the time. Since they tried all kinds of channels to bring the latest information on China to their European readers, they too became research subjects in the study of modern Chinese Catholic church history, the history of East and West cultural exchange, as well as the early stage of information globalization.
The research in this book focuses mainly on the letters from China in Der Neue Welt-Bott, examining their editors, text, and content structure from a historical perspective, and carrying out a discussion on the early global communication network based on such results.
Der Neue Welt-Bott includes 190 letters sent from China during the end of the Ming Dynasty to the early and mid-Qing Dynasty, featuring the letters contributed by German Jesuits from various provinces in China, as well as the translation of French Jesuit letters. Over the years, editors kept a modest record of China’s social condition and missionary work at that time, such as the lives of missionaries in China, the “missionary case" that took place in various provinces, the “Macau incident,” etc. This book shifts to the Chinese perspective and views the incidents that happened in China from the relatively objective viewpoint of Westerners.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
2022年12月，《<新世界信使>研究——以中国来信为中心》由上海古籍出版社出版，作者为柯卉。该书以两百多年以前来中国（清朝）传教的耶稣会传教士的视角记录了当时中国的世俗状况以及传教状况。
《新世界信使》是18世纪一部德文本耶稣会辑刊，编撰者是耶稣会士斯特克莱因及其同伴。《新世界信使》当中的中国来信这部分内容大部分完成于18世纪。在这段时期中，罗马教廷严禁天主教传教士通融中国礼仪，中国传统礼仪与天主教信仰构成了激烈的冲突。此后，清政府同时开始实施全面禁教政策，在华传教士生存状况日益恶化。但他们或潜行各省传教，或利用宫廷服务身份在北京合法居住，持续将包含世俗主题和传教主题的中国消息传递到欧洲。在诸多的中国消息提供者当中，包括此前鲜有人关注的一些清前中期来华耶稣会士，如方记金、费隐、南怀仁、魏继晋等人。他们利用各种信息渠道，为当时的欧洲读者提供了中国最新信息，也让他们自己成为今天中国天主教史、东西文化交流史、早期信息全球化的研究对象。
《<新世界信使>研究——以中国来信为中心》一书即是主要以《新世界信使》当中的中国来信这部分内容为研究对象，从历史发展的角度研究《新世界信使》的编者、版本、内容结构，并将其作为基本资料放到早期全球信息传递网络中进行讨论。
《新世界信使》收录了大量海外耶稣会士书信，其中包含明末至清前中期中国来信190份，在华德意志地区各会省耶稣会士供稿及法国耶稣会士书信转译构成辑刊中国来信的主体。历任编辑采用平实文风记述世俗、传教两类主题的中国最新信息，例如在华传教士生存状况、各地“教案”、“澳门危机”等等。本书将从中国人的自我视角切换成为西方人的相对客观视角来记录和看待当时中国所发生的一系列事情。
新书速递|《<新世界信使>研究——以中国来信为中心》出版，以西方来华传教士视角看中国
In January 2023, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House released A Study on Der Neue Welt-Bott: Based on the Letters from China, a new book by Ke Hui.
According to Chinese Christian Studies, the book records the livelihood of Chinese people and the missionary work carried out in China during the Qing Dynasty, from the perspective of Jesuits who came to China more than 200 years ago.
Der Neue Welt-Bott (The New World Messenger) is a German Jesuit journal compiled in the 18th century by Jesuit Joseph Stöcklein and his companions. During that time, the Roman Catholic Church strictly prohibited Catholic missionaries from accommodating Chinese etiquette, as the traditional etiquette of the Chinese was in serious conflict with the Catholic faith. Thereafter, the Qing government began to implement a total ban on religion, making life increasingly difficult for the missionaries in China. Still, the missionaries kept telling people in Europe about the lives of Chinese people and missionary work in China. They did this either by doing their ministry in secret in the different provinces or by working at the Qing court so they could stay in Beijing legally. Some of these messengers were Jesuits who went to China in the early and middle parts of the Qing Dynasty, like Jérôme Franchi, Xavier Ehrenbert Fridelli, Ferdinand Verbiest, Florian Bahr, etc., who were not well-known at the time. Since they tried all kinds of channels to bring the latest information on China to their European readers, they too became research subjects in the study of modern Chinese Catholic church history, the history of East and West cultural exchange, as well as the early stage of information globalization.
The research in this book focuses mainly on the letters from China in Der Neue Welt-Bott, examining their editors, text, and content structure from a historical perspective, and carrying out a discussion on the early global communication network based on such results.
Der Neue Welt-Bott includes 190 letters sent from China during the end of the Ming Dynasty to the early and mid-Qing Dynasty, featuring the letters contributed by German Jesuits from various provinces in China, as well as the translation of French Jesuit letters. Over the years, editors kept a modest record of China’s social condition and missionary work at that time, such as the lives of missionaries in China, the “missionary case" that took place in various provinces, the “Macau incident,” etc. This book shifts to the Chinese perspective and views the incidents that happened in China from the relatively objective viewpoint of Westerners.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
A Study on Der Neue Welt-Bott: Based on the Letters from China Released
