The Westerner
Matteo Ricci’s World Map and the Quandaries of European Identity in the Late Ming Dynasty
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13062949 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Florin-Stefan Morar (Harvard University, [email protected]), Florin‐stefan Morar (0000-0003-3415-2638, Harvard University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 14-30 |
| Publication date | 2019-03-11 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Jesuit Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2214-1324 • E-ISSN: 2214-1332 |
| Publisher | Brill (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.1163/22141332-00601002 |
| OpenAlex | W2922254079 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
Beginning with the late Ming dynasty, Europeans in China assumed the name of “people from the Great Western Ocean” ( Daxiyang ren 大西洋人), often shortened to “Ocean people” ( yang ren 洋人) or “Western people” ( xi ren 西人). What is the origin of this name? This paper seeks to answer this question by suggesting a new interpretation of the cartography of Matteo Ricci. Much of the scholarly debate about the Ricci world map revolves around the notion that it was a scientific artifact meant to present an accurate image of the world to a willfully ignorant, but otherwise impressive civilization. This paper argues instead that the purpose of Ricci’s cartographic project was to sustain a new identity, that of the Westerner and of the “Great West,” notions created in translation by borrowing and modifying Ming China’s geopolitical vocabulary
Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · China · Civilization · Geopolitics · Identity (music · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literature · Political science · Politics · Travel writing · Chinese history and philosophy · History · History of Science and Medicine · Japanese History and Culture · Law · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |