OS 'TRÊS MOSQUETEIROS MARÍTIMOS' VISTOS PELOS CHINESES中國人視野中的“三個火槍手”
This article analyzes the Chinese perception of the three major European maritime powers—Portugal, Spain, and Holland—that arrived in the Far East during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Designated by the authors as the "three maritime musketeers," these actors established the first direct c...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
July 2004
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40011/3848 |
| Summary: | This article analyzes the Chinese perception of the three major European maritime powers—Portugal, Spain, and Holland—that arrived in the Far East during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Designated by the authors as the "three maritime musketeers," these actors established the first direct contacts with Ming China, triggering a process of mutual representation in a context of profound cultural asymmetry. Adopting a perspective inverse to traditional Eurocentric studies, the research focuses on the collective Chinese imaginary and the terminology used to classify the newcomers, such as *fulangji* (the Portuguese), *lüsong* (the Spaniards), and the "red-haired barbarians" (the Dutch).
Through the examination of primary sources, including accounts by local authorities, travel literature, and testimonies of mandarins who interacted with the Macau entrepôt, the study explores the impact of Sinocentric mentality on the cartography and political geography of the period. The authors argue that these narratives were fundamental to the construction of the image of the exotic "other" within the imperial tributary system. By documenting the earliest impressions recorded by Chinese brushes, the article offers an essential contribution to the understanding of mentalities and the evolution of geographical knowledge in China, evidencing how intellectual isolation was gradually challenged by these encounters and missed encounters in the South China Sea. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |