the ACTA Pekinensia or Historical Records of Maillard de Tournon Legation: Volume IV: March 1709 - May 1712: 12

The Acta Pekinensia is a Latin manuscript found in the Jesuit Roman Archives. It is a record of the papal legation to China of Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon, from his arrival in China to his death in Macau. It was compiled by Kilian Stumpf, a German Jesuit missionary/scientist serving at the court of the Kangxi emperor of China. Stumpf was in a privileged position to record day by day the events of this crucial episode not only in the history of Christianity in China but in Chinese-Western relations. This annotated translation provides a full documentation and an acute and lively commentary on the clash of values which resulted in the failure of the legation and the condemnation of Chinese Rites. The present book is the fourth and last volume of the whole report written by Stumpf, and which covers all in all the time between the end of 1705 including May 1712.