Modern Social Science Research

Matteo Ricci was a pivotal missionary who facilitated the Eastward Transmission of Western Learning and disseminated Western scientific knowledge during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Analyzing the reasons for his success in introducing Western learning to China enables learners of Chinese translation history to gain deeper insights into translation practices of that era. This study employs Lefevere’s Manipulation Theory as its theoretical framework to investigate the manipulation strategies adopted by the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci in translating Western works into Chinese and the underlying motivations. Focusing on Ricci’s representative translation projects in China, the research explores how he implemented translational manipulation within specific historical and cultural contexts to achieve the dual objectives of spreading Western knowledge and Catholic doctrines. The methodology centers on the core elements of Manipulation Theory—ideology, poetics, and patronage—supported by case studies of specific translated texts. The findings reveal that Ricci’s translation practice essentially constituted a "rewriting" shaped by multiple manipulative forces under historical constraints. While this manipulation strategy successfully fostered knowledge dissemination and cultural exchange in the early phase of Eastward Transmission of Western Learning and created conditions for missionary activities, it inevitably led to discrepancies between the translated content and its original meaning.

Eastward transmission of Western learning; Matteo Ricci; Manipulation theory; Translation strategy; Ideological manipulation