ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to compare the various patterns of accommodation observable among the different orders – both in their missionary activities and in their performance of worldly duties vis-a-vis the shah. It shows that not only the Jesuits but also all the other orders were thus able to obtain access to the court’s inner circles during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The book looks at the household as a sphere of missionary activities and pays special attention to the relationship between missionaries and women, which was often situated in households rather than in the public sphere. It focuses on the encounter between missionaries and the “other,” highlighting the fruitfulness of a focus on “in-betweenness” and on the ways missionaries and local agents were shaped by each other.
