Translation and Language Knowledge at the Beginning of Modern Italian Sinology Between Naples, Rome, and China

Italy and China have a long history of cultural interaction, from the ancient period of the Roman and Han Empires to the commercial exchanges of the Middle Ages along the Silk Road, and the cultural and religious activities carried out by the Jesuits during the Ming dynasty . The Italian Jesuits were the first to study the Chinese language and to develop tools for its learning. For nearly two centuries 18th and 19th centuries, Italy was absent from the Chinese Empire, it was only following the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy that the country resumed sending its representatives and interpreters, establishing diplomatic and cultural ties. This essay outlines the biographical and professional trajectories of several representatives of ‘modern’ Italian sinology, their work in China as interpreters, and their contribution to the cultural relations between the Qing Empire and the newly established Italian state.