Nicolas Trigault
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nicolas Trigault (1577-1629) was a French Jesuit, and a missionary to China. He was also known for his latinised name Trigautius or Trigaultius.
Contents |
[edit] Life and Work
Born in Douai (then part of the Spanish Netherlands, today part of France), he became a Jesuit in 1594. Trigault left Europe to do missionary work Asia around 1910, eventually arriving at Nanking in 1611. He died at Hangzhou, China.
From 1612-18 Trigault was sent back to Europe to report to Pope Paul V,[1] where the monk was also sent on a tour around Europe to raise money and publicize the work of the Jesuit missions. Peter Paul Rubens did a portrait of Trigault when the latter stopped there in 1517 (at right).[2]
Trigault is perhaps best known for having edited and translated Matteo Ricci's "China Journal", or De Christiana Expeditione apud Sinas (from Italian into Latin). The work was published in 1615; later it was translated into many European languages and widely read.
He produced the first system of Chinese Romanisation in 1626, in his work Xiru Ermu Zi (西儒耳目資 "Aid to the Eyes and Ears of Western Literati"). Aided by a converted Chinese, he also produced the first Chinese version of Aesop's Fables (況義 "Analogy"), published in 1625.
[edit] Publications
- De Christiana Expeditione apud Sinas, Nicolas Trigault and Matteo Ricci
- Xiru Ermu Zi (西儒耳目資 "Aid to the Eyes and Ears of Western Literati")
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.yutopian.com/religion/missionary/Trigault.html
- ^ http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rvd_d/ho_1999.222.htm
[edit] Further Reading
Liam M. Brockney, Journey to the East: The Jesuit mission to China, 1579-1724 (Harvard University Press, 2007).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Biography in Chinese at the National Digital Library of China
- Bibliographical information of Xiru Ermu Zi at the Ricci 21st Century Roundtable database, supported only by 5.0 or later versions of Internet Explorer
- Facsimile of Xiru Ermu Zi at Gallica
