China Baroqueries, ca. 1620: Francisco de Herrera Maldonado on the Chinese Language

This article focuses on the reflections on Chinese language and script included by Francisco de Herrera Maldonado (a minor figure in the Spanish Golden Age) in his little-known 1620 Historical Epitome of the Kingdom of China … By translating and commenting on the relevant contexts from both the Spanish original and its 1622 French rendition, I challenge the critical consensus that sees most of the Historical Epitome as a highly derivative text. I discuss this work’s many novel linguistic perspectives (on character composition, calligraphy, and Chinese grammar) against those in earlier European accounts on China, and emphasise the pioneering position Herrera Maldonado’s work should occupy in a history of European reflections on the Chinese language and linguistic otherness at large. I also argue that Herrera’s language chapter represents a partially failed attempt at building a Baroque spectacle of erudition and Chinese-character-based visual splendour, which anticipates Athanasius Kircher’s better-known efforts.