An Illustrated Life of Christ Presented to the Chinese Emperor

A renewed attention to visual culture is one of the recent developments in the study of cultural contacts between China and Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The subject of this book is the illustrated Life of Christ presented to the Chinese emperor in 1640 by the Jesuit missionary Johann Adam Schall von Bell S.J. (1592-1666). The origin of the work is a small parchment booklet with coloured miniature paintings based on a wide variety of prints by well-known European engravers (e.g., H. Goltzius, J. Stradanus). It was compiled in Munich in 1617 and a Chinese version with the title Jincheng shuxiang was published in Beijing more than twenty years later in a nicely illustrated edition. An Illustrated Life of Christ is a fascinating analysis of one of the earliest artistic encounters between Europe and China...Standaert has, once again, demonstrated his scholarly foresight, workmanship and authority. John T.P. Lai in Journal of the History of Christianity in Modern China This book is composed of two parts. Part I traces the complex history of production of Jincheng shuxiang, from its European origin to its Chinese reception. It also analyses the illustrations and the text. Part II contains the reproduction of the Chinese text and 48 illustrations, the reproduction of the identified original European prints and a translation of the Chinese text. It is hoped that the wider diffusion of this rare primary source, which is now reprinted for the first time since the seventeenth century, will further stimulate the study of visual culture in Sino-Western relations. The book will be of interest to a broad range of scholars, from art historians of China and Europe to scholars interested in print history, and theologians.

Preface Part I History and Analysis; Earlier Illustrations of the Life of Christ; Trigault and His European Visit in Service of the China Mission; The Gifts of the Dukes of Bavaria to the China Mission; Contemporary Descriptions of the Life of Christ; Intermediaries in the Production of the Original Book; Travel to China; The Book Offered to the Chinese Emperor; The Production of a Chinese Version; The Reception of Schall's Book; The Illustrations and Their Prototype; The Text and Its Narration; Tables: Table 1. List of Prints in Jincheng shuxiang (79) Table 2. Comparison Between the Existing Versions of Jincheng shuxiang (85) Table 3. Comparison Between Jincheng shuxiang and Other Harmonies of the Gospel (88) Table 4. Summary List of Illustrations of Jincheng shuxiang of which the Original Has Been Identified (91) Part II Jincheng shuxiang: Reproduction and Translation The Author's Own Preface to the Images in a Booklet Presented to His Majesty Short Explanation of the Correct Way of the Lord of Heaven 1 The Three Magi Adoring the Child Jesus The Way of Reading a Western Book 2 Frontispiece: The Four Evangelists General Explanation 3 Salvator Mundi 4 The Annunciation 5 The Visitation 6 The Tree of Jesse 7 The Adoration of the Shepherds 8 The Adoration of the Magi 9 The Presentation in the Temple 10 The Dispute with the Doctors 11 The Baptism of Christ 12 The Temptation in the Wilderness 13 The Marriage at Cana 14 The Storm on the Sea of Galilee 15 Christ Healing the Paralytic 16 The Raising of Jairus' Daughter 17 Christ Instructing the Twelve Apostles on the Mountain 18 The Raising of the Son of the Widow of Naim 19 The Parable of the Sower and the Seeds 20 Christ Sending Out the Disciples 21 The Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes 22 Christ Walking on the Sea 23 The Transfiguration on the Mountain 24 The Parable of the Good Samaritan 25 The Parable of the Prodigal Son 26 The Parable of the Poor Lazarus and the Rich Man 27 The Raising of Lazarus 28 Christ's Entry into Jerusalem 29 The Last Judgement 30 The Last Supper: The Eating of a Lamb 31 The Last Supper: The Washing of Feet 32 The Last Supper: The Institution 33 The Agony in the Garden 34 The Arrest 35 Christ before Caiaphas 36 The Denial of Peter 37 Christ before Herod 38 The Flagellation 39 Jesus Crowned with Thorns 40 Ecce Homo 41 The Road to Calvary 42 The Crucifixion 43 Christ on the Cross 44 The Entombment 45 The Resuection 46 The Journey to Emmaus 47 Christ Appearing to Thomas 48 The Ascension