Juan González de Mendoza, O.S.A. (1545 – 14 February 1618) was a Spanish bishop, explorer, sinologist, and writer. He was the author of one of the earliest Western histories of China. Published by him in 1585, ''Historia de las cosas más notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la China'' (''The History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof'') is an account of observations of several Spanish travelers in China. An English translation by Robert Parke appeared in 1588 and was reprinted by the

Hakluyt Society The Hakluyt Society is a text publication society, founded in 1846 and based in London, England, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of historic voyages, travels and other geographical material. In addition to its publishin ...

in two volumes, edited by Sir George T. Staunton, Bart. (London, 1853–54). González de Mendoza's ''Historia'' was mostly superseded in 1615 by the work of much more informed

Jesuit missionaries The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

who actually lived in China,

Matteo Ricci Matteo Ricci (; ; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610) was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He created the , a 1602 map of the world written in Chinese characters. In 2022, the Apostolic See decl ...

and Nicolas Trigault, ''

De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas ''De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu ... '' (Latin for "On the Christian Mission among the Chinese by the Society of Jesus...") is a book based on an Italian manuscript written by the most important founding figure ...

''. Much of González de Mendoza's work was plagiarised from Escalante's ''Discurso de la navegacion''

Biography

González de Mendoza was born at Torrecilla en Cameros (

La Rioja (Spain) La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and ...

) in 1545. He joined the army but after some years resigned to enter the

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine (), abbreviated OSA, is a mendicant order, mendicant catholic religious order, religious order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who ...

. He published his most famous text in 1585, ''Historia de las cosas más notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la China''. It was based on the journals of Miguel de Luarca, whose 1580 trip to Ming China provided a simple majority thereof. He never set foot in China, but spent two years in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

before returning to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. On 31 May 1593, he was appointed during the papacy of

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

as Bishop of Lipari. On 7 June 1593, he was consecrated bishop by Filippo Spinola,

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

Santa Sabina The Basilica of Saint Sabina (, ) is a historic church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. Santa Sabina is the oldest ex ...

, with Cristóbal Senmanat y Robuster, Bishop of Orihuela, and Lorenzo Celsi (bishop), Bishop of Castro del Lazio, serving as co-consecrators. On 24 May 1599, he resigned as Bishop of Lipari. On 7 May 1607, he was appointed during the papacy of

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...

as Bishop of Chiapas. On 17 November 1608, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Paul V as

Bishop of Popayán A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. He served as Bishop of Popayán until his death on 14 February 1618.

Episcopal succession

While bishop, he was the principal co-consecrator of: * Pedro Castro Nero, Bishop of Lugo (1599); * Juan Ramírez de Arellano (bishop),

Bishop of Santiago de Guatemala The Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Guatemala.Juan Pérez de Espinosa, Bishop of Santiago de Chile (1600).

Bibliography

Historia de las cosas más notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la China
(original Spanish; Rome, 1585) * The history of the great and mighty kingdom of China and the situation thereof (English translation by Robert Parke, 1588) ** an 1853 reprint by Hakluyt Society:
vol. 1 at archive.orgvol. 2 at archive.org

vol. 1 at Project Gutenbergvol. 2 at Project Gutenberg
*** reprint: *** reprint: * Links to many other translations:

References

External links

* *
Guide to Chinese name transliterations in ''Historia de las cosas más notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la China''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez-de-Mendoza, Juan 1545 births 1618 deaths 16th-century Spanish male writers 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Sicily 16th-century Spanish writers 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mexico Augustinian bishops Augustinian friars Bishops appointed by Pope Clement VIII Bishops appointed by Pope Paul V Explorers of Asia Foreign relations of the Ming dynasty Clergy from Toledo, Spain Spanish Roman Catholic bishops in South America Spanish sinologists Roman Catholic bishops of Popayán

Biography

Episcopal succession

Bibliography

See also

References

External links