A short account of the declaration given by the Chinese Emperour Kam Hi, in the year 1700.

London : [s.n.], Printed in the year MDCCIII [1703]. Octavo (155 mm), contemporary calf, expertly rebacked; pp [28], [4 blank], 71, [1]; a few leaves with pale staining; early manuscript ex libris of the Holy Cross Abbey Library; housed in a custom morocco clamshell box.

English translation of Brevis relatio eorū quæ spectant ad declarationem Sinarū imperatoris Kam Hi … …

This is the extremely rare first English edition of the response of the Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722) to the letter concerning the Chinese Rites signed by the Jesuits Thomas, Pereira, Gerbillon and others. The original Latin edition was published in Peking in 1701 (Brevis relatio).

Lust, J. Western books on China, 874: ‘Signed by Anthony Thomas, Vice Provincial of China and nine other priests of the Society of Jesus. The point was to avoid imposing doctrines dogmatically on the Chinese state and great clans, that is, not, so to speak, to “Frenchify” China. Worse still, drastic action against missions might be provoked.’

OCLC: British Library; National Library of Australia