Athanasii Kircheri e Soc. Jesu China monumentis, qvà sacris quà profanis, nec non variis naturae & artis spectaculis, aliarumque rerum memorabilium argumentis illustrata, auspiciis Leopoldi Primi roman, imper

Athanasii Kircheri e Soc. Jesu China monumentis, qvà sacris quà profanis, nec non variis naturae & artis spectaculis, aliarumque rerum memorabilium argumentis illustrata, auspiciis Leopoldi Primi roman, imper

DS708 .K58

1667

The Jesuit Athanasius Kircher's knowledge was as stunning in its breadth as it was in its frequent wrong-headedness. A renowned linguist--he commanded 12 languages including Egyptian hieroglyphics (which he misread), he was an inventor of mechanical devices, an experimental scientist, a musical encyclopedist, an astronomer whose observations led him to reaffirm geocentricity, and a founder of museums. He believed in astrology, mermaids, griffons, and the spontaneous generation of insects. Although he never visited China his China Monumentis is an outstanding compendium of the geography, botany, zoology, religion, and language of China. Compiled from many Jesuit missionary sources, it is also filled with fantastic images and incorrect suppositions.

237 pages

Asia - China Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library

74