Minglitan: Chinese Translation and Commentary of Aristotle’s Categories from the 17th Century

Abstract

This article puts forth the first Polish translation of fragments of Minglitan,
„Investigation into the Meaning of Names”, that is Chinese translation
and commentary of Aristotle’s Categories prepared by Chinese
scholar, Li Zhizao and Portuguese Jesuit, Francisco Furtado, and
published in 1631. Five pieces have been select for the translation:
Li Tianjing’s preface to Minglitan; a groundbreaking essay on sources
of philosophy, containing the very first Chinese transliteration of the
term φιλοσοφία; chapter on the category of substance; of quantity; and
chapter on opposites. The translation has been furnished with footnotes
elaborating on Chinese terms employed in the Minglitan, and has
been preceded by an introduction that delineates historical context of
Minglitan, its content and structure, along with a brief sketch of its main
linguistic determinants.