ABSTRACT
This chapter goes beyond semantic interpretation and analysis of the linguistic features of the Jesuit Figurists’ intralingual translation of the Yijing and delves further into the material format of the texts. For while the proselytization of the Jesuit Figurists focused on the interpretation of symbols and figures, their handwritten manuscripts of the Yijing served as a visual medium and remain central to the analysis of how the intralingual translation of the Yijing was read. Trying to maintain a balanced harmony in the imperial court, despite facing a domineering emperor and ministers with their own schemes and agendas, the Jesuit Figurists designed their manuscripts as Chinese literary garments, with which they could identify as Chinese literati, to reach their target audience, the Kangxi Emperor and his ministers. In this highly polished written space, the Jesuit Figurists imitated the format of the Chinese literati’s commentaries and exhibited submissiveness not only to the emperor but also to China’s writing culture. Their intralingual translation and the imitation of the Chinese literati’s formats are a further extension of the Jesuits’ accommodation policy in China.
