The connection between the Thesaurus rarissimus (Marsh 111) and the Dictionnaire Chinois & François (1670), the first printed Chinese dictionary in Europe

Rui Li
Guangdong University of Finance & Economics

The Dictionnaire Chinois & François appended to La Chine illustrée (1670) was the first printed Chinese-European dictionary, but its authorship and sources remain unknown. This article investigates this printed Chinese-French dictionary and argues that an anonymous manuscript dictionary (Ms Marsh 111) kept in the Bodleian Library in Oxford is related to it. The connection between the printed dictionary and Marsh 111 enables us to identify more entries in Dictionnaire Chinois & François with incorrect romanization and translations.

Publication history

Date received: 4 April 2025

Date accepted: 11 April 2025

Published online: 2 May 2025

Table of contents

In 1667, the German Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680) published an encyclopaedic work about China, titled China Monumentis, qua Sacris qua Profanis, Nec non variis Naturæ & Artis Spectaculis, Aliarumque rerum memorabilium Argumentis Illustrata [‘China Illustrated by Monuments, both Sacred and Profane, as well as by Various Marvels of Nature and Art, and by Accounts of Other Memorable Things’]. Its publication catered to 17th-century Europe’s curiosity about China, and shortly after the Latin original, China Illustrata (1667) was translated into Dutch (1668), English (abridged edition, 1669 & 1673) and French (enriched edition, 1670). The French edition, titled La Chine d’Athanase Kirchere de la Compagnie de Jesus, illustrée de plusieurs monuments tant sacrés que profanes, et de quantité de recherchés de la nature & de l’art: a quoy on à adjousté de nouveau les questions curieuses que le Serenissime Grand Duc de Toscane a fait dépuis peu au P. Jean Grubere touchant ce grand Empire: avec un Dictionnaire Chinois & François, lequel est tres-rare, & qui n’a pas encores paru au jour (1670), included a Q&A section on various aspects of China (pp. 316–323) and an early Chinese-French dictionary (pp. 324–367), which had not appeared in the 1667 Latin edition. The Q&A section entitled “La Briefve & exacte Response du P. Jean Grubere de la Societé de Jesus, a toutes les Questions que luy a fait le Serenißime Grand Duc de Toscane” [‘The Brief and Exact Response of Father Jean Grueber of the Society of Jesus to All the Questions Asked of Him by the Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany’] contains ten questions about China posed by Ferdinando II de’ Medici (1610–1670) with answers by an Austrian Jesuit priest Johann Grueber (1623–1680). This conversation took place in Florence in 1666, when Grueber returned to Europe from China and stayed in the city for at least eight days. During his visit, he met with several prominent figures, including Grand Duke Ferdinando II and a Florentine writer Lorenzo Magalotti (1637–1712). Based on their conversations, Magalotti recorded Grueber’s journey and knowledge of China in his book Relazione della China [‘Report of China’].

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