Gonzalez de Mendoza | Historia de las cosas mas notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la China, 1585

GONZALEZ DE MENDOZA, JUAN

Historia de las cosas mas notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la China.. Con un itinerario del nuevo mundo. Rome: Vincentio Accolti, 1585

FIRST EDITION, 8vo (161 x 100mm.), woodcut initials, later calf, minor spotting, slightly worn

"THE FIRST EUROPEAN BOOK IN WHICH CHINESE CHARACTERS OCCUR" (Sabin).

Mendoza was an Augustinian preacher and penitentiary at the Roman court. He was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII to gather together all that was known of China's history and culture, and his work, became the standard authority and the basis of various translations. 

LITERATURE:

IT\ICCU\BVEE\016818; Sabin 27775