Antoine Thomas: A historian of the Sino-Zunghar war

The Jesuit mission in China was of great significance at the very beginning of the Sino-Western relationships during the 16th and 17th centuries. Not only the Chinese could benefit from the Jesuits’ skills in many scientific fields (astronomy, ballistic, geometry, etc.), but, on the other side of the Eurasian continent, the Europeans could obtain new and updated information on the Chinese empire and the Far East as well. Geography, linguistics, philosophy, and history are among the major fields which the Jesuits gathered information on to be sent back to Europe. The cronica or historiae represents an important part of the Jesuits’work in China.