The Jesuits in China and the Circulation of Western Books in the Sciences (17th-18th Centuries): The Medical and Pharmaceutical Sections in the SJ Libraries of Peking

Abstract

In total, 281 medical and pharmaceutical books, and some journals (including ‘general’ ones, such as the Gazeta de Lisboa) are preserved in the so-called Beitang collection (Peking). These, in the main, originate from the pre-1773 Jesuit collections in Peking and elsewhere. They constitute, together with other written sources, a primary source reflecting the medical aspect of the Jesuit presence and activities in seventeenth till eighteenth century China. It is possible to identify a core of 68 items brought to Peking in 1623. This is followed by a decline (in the number of acquisitions, and probably interest in upgrading the collection), until in 1685 Ferdinand Verbiest tried to provide fresh impulse to book acquisition, without significant results. Yet, medical books continued to arrive until the very end of the Jesuit presence in Peking, apparently more often at the (French) Beitang than the Portuguese college (Nantang), with its strong focus on mathematics, linked to the activities in the Astronomical Bureau of its residents. I try to tease out details of the identity of the readers and their interests, which turn out to be multi-faceted and heterogeneous, due to the relatively long (200 year) period of acquisition. These reflect factors such as the evolution in European medicine and pharmacology, the multi-national composition of the staff, their different professional backgrounds and level of instruction, and the various types of diseases they were confronted with.