Couplet Editor (1 results)

First edition. Two parts in one. Woodcut royal vignette on title, engraved portrait of Confucius and one engraved map (old repaired damage). Folio. Contemporary French red morocco gilt with arms of Louis XIV (Olivier 2494 fer 10, 21) within gilt frame, corner-pieces with royal monogram, spine in 7 compartments with 6 raised bands, gilt title and gilt royal monogram, all edges gilt. Ownership inscription on top of title "Domus Profess. Paris Soc. Jesu DD. (?) RG De la Chaize 1693" referring to the Royal Confessor Francois de la Chaise (1624-1709). Occasional light spotting, spine a bit darkened, but generally a very good, clean copy. [cxxiv], 108, 21, 159; xx, 1-20, 8, [21]-106, [ii], 105-108pp. Paris, Daniel Horthemels, A Royal Presentation copy from Louis XIV (The Sun King, 1643-1715) to his confessor Francois de la Chaise (1624-1709). The Professed House mentioned on the title-inscription was the official residence for the confessors to the Kings of France. It was located on the Rue St. Antoine in Paris.    The present work is considered the first comprehensive discussion of Confucian thought, as well as a landmark in the transmission of Chinese culture throughout Europe. Much of the translation of the three Confucian Classics (Daxue, Zhongyong, Lunyu) was undertaken by the three Jesuits mentioned in the title, Prospero Intorcetta (1625-1696), Christian Wolfgang Herdtrich (1625-1684), and François de Rougemont (1624-1676). The book of Mencius would have considerably increased the size and cost of the publication and p. 159 states that they are hoping to supply a translation of that important work at a later date.   The author and editor Philippe Couplet (1623-1693), a Flemish Jesuit, made a number of important contributions to the book: The long introduction includes an explanation of the 64 Yijing hexagrams, as well as a biography of Confucius. He was also responsible for the second part of the work consisting of the Tabula Chronologica ante Christum for the first three dynasties starting with the legendary Yellow Emperor (Huangdi), followed by a genealogical table of the three families and 86 successors of Huangdi starting from the year 2697 BC. Seemingly innocuous, this chronology caused a storm amongst theologians in Europe because it threw into question the accuracy of western biblical chronology, by clearly demonstrating that world history was older than the Bible allowed for. The second Tabula Chronologica Monarchiae Sinicae post Christum records the succession of Dynasties and Emperors together with major events up to 1683. It is the first summary of Chinese history to be published in Europe. The final three text-leaves provide interesting statistical information about the 15 provinces. The work also includes an engraved map with the locations of the Jesuit missions throughout the empire. A full-page engraved portrait shows Confucius in front of a library containing his own works as well as the writings and the ancestral tablets of his followers. The characters on the back wall read: "Confucius, the foremost teacher under heaven". Couplet could hardly have been more complementary when he states in his preface: "One might say that the moral system of this philosopher [Confucius] is infinitely sublime, but that it is at the same time simple, sensible, and drawn from the purest sources of natural reason. Never has Reason, deprived of Divine Revelation, appeared so well developed nor with so much power." (Arnold H. Rowbotham. The Impact of Confucianism on Seventeenth Century Europe". in: The Far Eastern Quarterly Vol. 4, No. 3 (May, 1945), pp. 224ff.).   Louis XIV had a strong interest in China, which in no small measure goes back to his meeting with Couplet in Versailles on September 15th, 1684, accompanied by the Chinese convert Michael Shen (Shen Fu-zong, 1658-1691). Couplet had recently returned from China for a tour of European capitals in order to raise funds for the Jesuit mission and to persuade Jesuits with good.