PROLOGUE

The Preface and Introduction to this Documental Anthology, which explained and presented in issue no 32 the texts collected for these two volumes, have been compiled by the scientific coordinator, Professor Rui Loureiro. Everything essentially already fits into that framework to make the sequence of authors and historians clear for the reader and to introduce the most in depth reading of these accounts.

The "Review of Culture" is delighted to publish a further edition which apart from the condensed and fervent reading material, constitutes an informative focus, especially for Chinese historians, as it reveals the beginnings of the encounter with the people of China by the Portuguese more clearly and stimulates further in depth analysis of the 'mutual vision' which ensued.

Above all one must keep in mind the concern of the editor and organiser of the texts with regard to the hyperbolic hue from beginning to end which invariably colours the chronologically ordered reports which span about one-hundred and fifty years of 'observations' of the Chinese world from the first phase of indirect 'observation' to the second phase of living experience; 'being there'.

Post-Renaissance Europe was highly civilized compared to other nations and cultures, reasons which made them fascinated by the sheer size and refinement of an Empire which showed itself as superior in important cultural and socio-political aspects.

In terms of how the state was organised, the 'Heavenly hierarchy' or 'Divine bureaucracy' of the majestic administrative pyramid, constituted a true "cultural republic" headed by the Emperor; a model meritocracy in the history of past civilisations.

The ever mysterious underlying causes of the fall of the Chinese, which became apparent in history immediately after the arrival of the Portuguese in the Far East, are still to be clarified. Professor Joseph Needham, throughout his long studies and reflections, never found an exact explanation for the phenomena which he experienced in the fading away of technology in China, when at the same time the opposite was happening in Europe.

Nevertheless it seems clear to us that if the intriguing mythification by chroniclers in the first phase was instrumental in attracting soldiers, merchants and missionaries to "parts of China", in the second phase the high praise of some Jesuit accounts took for granted "political propaganda". They were protective of their own exclusivity after securing the Far East Mission, a position envied by other religious Orders.

In two critical aspects the evaluations of various chroniclers concurred: the widespread practice of sodomy and the apparent "weakness" of the Chinese people.

Any first impression of 'the Other' will always be superficial, like an out of focus image filtered through the identifying lenses of the observer. In the two cases referred to, moral dogmatism was the priority plus a very limited knowledge of the origins of cultural tradition of 'the Other'.

The great Middle Kingdom, so astonishing through Portuguese eyes in the first place, was ultimately a vast, immense agrarian society; it was a feminine, lunar universe, characterised and protected by all that such symbolism conjured up.

Consequently this was always seen in their own calendar cycles and their theatricalising of political power, in the staging of military potential and in the sublimation of aggressiveness, and in the emphasis on ritual.

Weak is the power which relies on the use of violent action and repressive practices. On the contrary, the Emperor should be respected and unquestionably obeyed, because he embodies the charisma of the formidable authority that he does not need to exercise. He projects the greatest image of power, the void exteriorised in completeness, the absolute pivotal point, an incarnation of the most pure Yang.•

Provinces, villages and families took orders from him and were under his rule, just like the neighbouring states surrounding this great Centre.

There was 'a passivity', better said 'a Chinese passivity' which emanated from this superior way of ritualising power, force and aggressivity within and beyond their frontiers, like sublimation and dissuasion.

The remarkable escapade of the eunuch, Zheng He,• being the opposite to expansionism, was well portrayed within the boundaries of their customs as a necessity of a reincarnation of the great strength of China over the border states traditionally under their domination.

In the eyes of the first Westerners, some of the behaviour and habits of Chinese men in society seemed effeminate and specially for those Western men who were in the second phase of their belligerent civilisation and had lost the memory of gentlemanly ethics.

Full of dogmatic morals associated with Biblical punishments of 'the Flood' and 'the Fire', Jesuit chroniclers were shown many scandalous reports on China which they defined as "wicked sins". Catholicism made one forget Greece and Rome and monarchies in the Orient.

Chinese eunuchs were in fact a unified institution in centres of power, the Central Court and the Courts of the Viceroys and mandarins. In Imperial China it was vulgar to be masculine for services of the concubines in the women's quarters. The book Zhouli• refers to this practice since the Zhou• dynasty (ca 1040-256BC). In a battle against the Southern Miao,• the one thousand five hundred and sixty five youths captured were castrated to become eunuchs.

In the side wings of the alcoves and labyrinths of the secluded precints, thousands of eunuchs, in a normal association and alliance with the ladies of the Court, became less virile and more powerful, often nefariously powerful through games of intrigue, espionage, and through the manoeuvring of a power concentrated in a small geographical space within the royal palace and its gardens.

It was later that Jesuit Fathers were installed in the Beijing · Court to help with the final overthrow of the Ming · dynasty (1368-1644), mainly because of the corrosive force exercised by the cohorts of eunuchs at Court, especially from the time of the Emperor Yongle (r. 1403-†1424). It was similar to what had happened previously in the ruination of various dynasties, Eastern Han · (AD9-220), Tang · (618-906) and Song · (960-1279), beginning since the Qin · (221-207BC) dynasty in which the government fell into the hands of the eunuch, Chao Kao. ·

The first chroniclers on China had 'seen' this previously only spoken of phenomena and certainly it captivated them only in outward appearance.

The 'femininity' of Chinese men was also mentioned in Matteo Ricci's Historia [...] (History [...]) (1608-1610):

"Among us, one considers it agreeable to see an armed man but for them it is badly looked upon, and they dread seeing anything so terrible. Therefore no dispute or disturbance ever happens, something so common for us when we avenge an insult and resort to arms and fight to the death. They consider the most honourable man to be one who escapes and wishes not to harm anyone."

Therefore Matteo Ricci felt 'disappointed' with the Chinese Army where he also mainly saw theatrical attempts at efficiency and ostentatiousness or exhibitionism in manoeuvres of great mise-en-scène. He was shocked by the formidable use of gunpowder in extravagant fireworks festivals, more than used in efficient wartime effects. He also verified the low social standing and function of people in the army:

"As far as among our people are concerned the most noble and courageous become soldiers, in China it is the most lowly and cowardly who devote themselves to affairs of war."

In 1583 Matteo Ricci wrote to the Spanish Governor in Manila:

"In order to tell you the truth, for whatever I write about the Chinese to your Honour, I would not say they were men of war, for just as much in their outward appearance as in their heart of hearts, they are like women: if anyone of us bars their teeth to them, they become meek and submissive, and anyone who subjugates them has them at their feet. The men take two hours to do their hair everyday and they dress themselves meticulously, spending all the spare time at their disposal on their attire. Among these men, skirmishes, affronts and insults do not qualify as a reason for shame, like it is for us; they show a female rage and pull each others hair, and when they tire of this they became friends again. It is rare for them to wound each other or kill among themselves, and even if they wished to, they have not the means to do so, not only because few soldiers exist, but because the majority of them do not even have a knife in their homes. In short there is nothing that frightens them except for a great multitude of people [...]."

It becomes evident that the society shown here or described in the corresponding chronicles had a superior level of civilisation where aggressiveness was subliminated and ritualised.

However it also appeared clear that in the texts quoted by Matteo Ricci, and in others by various chroniclers, the report of "weakness" and lack of warlike behaviour in the great Chinese Empire disguised the hidden incentive of a conquering venture by a powerful European country.

We know from historical reports about many scheming plans and the facts of what was tried and achieved became known later.

The political classes of the Ming period allowed the Portuguese to settle in Macao by using several ingenious policies which showed foresight and prudence. It was because of this that integration with the Chinese would last for two centuries.

In any case one can conclude that the evaluation of the first impressions of China chosen from Iberian literature is obviously positive, especially those which appeared in Portuguese chronicles from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They were a precursor to Europe's passionate discovery of China in the eighteenth century with the successive reeditions of some more informative works on the Middle Kingdom being proof of this fact.

Luís Sá Cunha
Editorial Director