Con gli Occhi dell’Altro: il Cibo Cinese nelle Fonti Gesuite del XVII Secolo

Since the Great Maritime Era, as geographical exploration by Westerners expanded, information on Chinese diet in the West surpassed previous decades. Information about Chinese food and products was constantly sent back to Europe. In this period, Portuguese travelers were the main and first means through which Chinese food culture began to spread in the West. Moreover, in the mid and late 16th century, Jesuits in China became the main group for spreading “Chinese food into the West”(Zhongshi Xichuan 中食 西传). They systemically transmitted data to Europe through missionary reports, letters and literature thus relaying - sometimes with some misunderstanding - Westerners’ ideas on Chinese food.