A (DES)CANIBALIZAÇÃO DOS PORTUGUESES葡國人並非吃人族
The article critically examines the so-called "(de)cannibalization" of the Portuguese during the first Sino-Portuguese contacts in the context of Ming dynasty China, particularly the recurrence, in Chinese sources, of descriptions of alleged cannibalism practiced by the Europeans. The authors argue...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
October 2005
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40016/3787 |
| Summary: | The article critically examines the so-called "(de)cannibalization" of the Portuguese during the first Sino-Portuguese contacts in the context of Ming dynasty China, particularly the recurrence, in Chinese sources, of descriptions of alleged cannibalism practiced by the Europeans. The authors argue that such narratives should not be taken as direct evidence, but understood as products of historiographical and political-discursive processes: the circulation of accounts, subsequent reinterpretations, and the possible instrumentalization by Canton authorities and anti-Portuguese imperial censors. Methodologically, the text reconstructs the genesis and evolution of Chinese information, making a systematic comparison between different Chinese chronicles and compilations and contemporary Portuguese records. Based on the analysis of a set of references—including the work *Yueshan Congtan* (attributed to Li Wenfeng)—the authors demonstrate how the allegation may derive from ambiguous geographical references, local rumors, and successive rewritings, sometimes without verifiable basis. It is concluded that the "official rumor" of cannibalism functioned more as a mechanism of legitimation and othering than as historical testimony, contributing to correct historiographical readings that reproduced these sources without questioning. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |