ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces Ricci’s social and cultural background at the time when he came to China to preach in the late Míng dynasty and systematically summarizes the academic research on his Chinese mission. In doing so, it identifies, from the perspective of linguistics, the current research gaps that exist and explains the significance of the Jesuit contribution to the evolution of the Chinese lexicon. It also identifies the research interests that have motivated this study – namely, that the lexical study of missionary literature has been insufficient and is urgently needed in order to advance our understanding of Míng and modern Chinese, as well as to refute misconceptions about the Chinese language (including the source of Chinese disyllabic words, the time of initial contact with the West, and the so-called Japanese origin of modern Chinese lexicon) and to correct certain etymological errors.
