Fornax Babylonica
The Tyranny of Zhang Xianzhong in Jesuit Accounts Recorded by Tomasz Dunin Szpot
Abstract
This article examines the representation of Zhang Xianzhong’s (張獻忠, 1606–1647) rule in the account of the Jesuit Tomasz Dunin Szpot, preserved in the manuscript Collectanea Historiae Sinensis (Jap. Sin. 104). A major rebel leader of the late Ming period, Zhang established his regime in Sichuan in 1644, where his rule was associated, in both Chinese and European sources, with extreme violence and large-scale destruction. The article argues that Szpot does not merely record these events but actively reshapes them within a framework drawn from classical and biblical traditions. Through the language of anti-tyrannical discourse and scriptural and classical references, Zhang Xianzhong is constructed as a paradigmatic insane tyrant whose rule embodies the collapse of political and moral order. By situating Szpot’s narrative within the broader context of Jesuit historiography, the study demonstrates how early modern missionary writing transformed episodes of mass violence into a form of moral and theological reflection. In doing so, it highlights the role of interpretative frameworks in mediating cross-cultural encounters and in shaping European understandings of political catastrophe in early modern China.
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