Da China Ming na Cultura Europeia: os Pólos Português e Italiano (1499-1550)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to follow the formation of the European «database» of texts regarding Ming China between 1499 when Girolamo Sernizi wrote his letters from Lisbon upon the arrival of Vasco da Gama from India and 1550, when the first edition of G. B. Ramusio’s Delle Navigationi et Viaggi was published in Venice. These are the first years of the European knowledge of Ming China. To understand the foundations of the early European visions of China is a fascinating exercise which brings along several problems.