The Style of Tomasz Dunin Szpot, S.J., in Historiae Sinarum Imperii
arly Modern Learned Latin as a Language of Describing and Interpreting China
Abstract
The article attempts to analyze the style of Tomasz Dunin Szpot SJ on the basis of his work Historiae Sinarum Imperii. It demonstrates that the author employs a highly self-conscious form of early modern scholarly Latin, combining academic rigor, classical periodic rhetoric, and missionary-theological narration. Szpot’s style fulfills cognitive, persuasive, and interpretative functions: it enables the translation of Chinese realities into the language of Latin culture and endows the history of China with a providential meaning. The analysis is based on numerous quotations from the original text, illustrating the author’s syntax, vocabulary, rhetorical figures, and conceptual strategies.
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