Catalogue of chinese documents in the «Propaganda Fide» historical archives (1622-1830)

This first catalogue of Chinese documents in the Archives of Propaganda Fide offers not only an annotated list of its invaluable resources, but also reproduces the full text of a few rare or unique Chinese Christian texts. The Catalogue (Dudink; eds. Zhao, Raini) is preceded by an essay (Menegon) that gives a full explanation of the entire structure and contents of the Archives pertaining to the China missions, and sketches the activity of Propaganda Fide missionaries in China up to the early 19th century: "the Chinese documents catalogued here open a window on the daily life of the Chinese Christian communities and their pastors, and the reaction of Chinese society to Catholic activities. Read together with the letters and reports sent from Asia in European languages to accompany them, they offer a corrective to a Rome-centered vision of the missions" (Menegon).