João Rodrigues Tçuzu
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João Rodrigues, distinguished as Tçuzu and also known by other names in China and Korea, was a Portuguese sailor, warrior, and Jesuit interpreter, missionary, priest, and scholar in Japan and China. He is now best known for his linguistic works on the Japanese language, including The Art of the Japanese Language. He was also long erroneously supposed to have been the main compiler of the first Japanese–Portuguese dictionary, published in 1603.
João Rodrigues Tçuzu
A 16th- or 17th-century Japanese screen print of a Portuguese Black Ship engaged in the Nanban Trade.
A 17th-century Japanese painting of a Portuguese visitor in Western attire.
The Art of the Japanese Language
Jesuit missions in China
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The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a significant role in continuing the transmission of knowledge, science, and culture between China and the West, and influenced Christian culture in Chinese society today.
The frontispiece of Athanasius Kircher's 1667 China Illustrata, depicting the Jesuit founders Francis Xavier and Ignatius of Loyola adoring the monogram of Christ in Heaven while Johann Adam Schall von Bell and Matteo Ricci labor on the China mission.
Nicolas Trigault (1577–1629) in Chinese attire, by Peter Paul Rubens.
Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements published in 1607.
The Chinese Jesuit Michael Alphonsius Shen Fu-Tsung visited France and Britain in 1684–1685. "The Chinese Convert" by Sir Godfrey Kneller.