Textes chrétiens chinois de la Bibliothèque nationale de France

This collection of 26 volumes contains a selection of hitherto unpublished texts from the Chinois-section in the National Library of France.

In selecting the texts from the National Library of France, the editors adopted the following criteria. A first criterion was to reproduce original texts published or written before ca. 1820. A second criterion was to include only texts that have not been reproduced or reprinted in any modern collection. A third criterion was to concentrate, as much as possible, on unique or rare texts not to be found in other libraries or archives.

The present publication reproduces some 190 texts, which have been arranged by subject. They reflect the characteristics of Chinese publications on Western science and religion in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and at the same time testify to the richness of the Chinese collection at the National Library of France. These publications cover a wide range of subjects such as Renaissance science; Aristotelian philosophy; humanistic writings; geography and astronomy. There are also biographies of missionaries and converts; apologetic writings, and memorials and edicts. At least seven volumes give particular attention to the writings of Chinese converts. They include a unique collection of collection of sermons for every day of the ecclesiastical year 1690-1691 (Kangxi 28/29). The National Library of France is also rich in theological writings and spiritual treatises, as well as liturgical books and prayer books; treatises on sacraments and rules for associations. It also has a good collection of books on figurism, to which an entire volume is devoted.

This is already the third collection of primary sources published by two of the present editors. The preceding two collections are still for sale:

耶穌會羅馬檔案館明清天主教文獻 Chinese Christian Texts from the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus, Taibei: Ricci Institute, 2002, 12 vols., in total 6786 pp., 100 primary sources. ISBN 957-9390-16-9.

徐家匯藏書樓明清天主教文獻 Chinese Christian Texts from the Zikawei Library, Taibei: Fu Jen Catholic Univ. Press, 1996, 5 vols., in total 2621 pp., 37 primary sources. ISBN 957-98886-0-4.