Proceedings of the International and Interdisciplinary Symposium at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn, May 10-12, 2012.  This volume consists of selected papers from a cross-disciplinary symposium, held by the Ostasien-Institut (OAI, East Asia Research Institute) as part of the project "Europe meets China - China meets Europe." It presents studies on the early encounters between two highly heterogeneous groups, European missionaries and Chinese literati, employing a cultural-psychological framework. Based on research in primary sources, the contributions elaborate on the cultural conditions and psychological interactions which influenced these encounters, thus providing new insights into the history of the Jesuit mission in China.

Contents: BERNHARD FÜHRER: Preface. ALOIS OSTERWALDER: Introduction. ISAIA IANNACCONE: The Challenge of Accommodation: The Case of Niklaas Trigault and Johannes Schreck-Terrentius. GREGORY BLUE: The Multifaceted Xu Guangqi: A Composite Sketch Based on the Current Western Literature. HUI-HUNG CHEN: A Chinese Treatise Attributed to Xu Guangqi (1615): How the Jesuits in China Defined "Sacred Images". LIAM MATTHEW BROCKEY: From Coimbra to Beijing, via Madurai: Andre Palmeiro, S.J. (1569-1635) in Maritime Asia. MANJUSHA KURUPPATH: Caught in Confessional Crossfire: Representations of Johann Adam Schall von Bell in Dutch Sources in the 1660s. SHU-JYUAN DEIWIKS: Some Cultural and Psychological Aspects of the Trial of Johann Adam Schall before the Supreme Court of Peking - According to the Secret Manchu Documents. CLAUDIA VON COLLANI: Kangxi's Mandate of Heaven and Papal Authority. Index.