Juan González de Mendoza
Juan González de Mendoza, O.S.A. (1545 – 14 February 1618) was a Spanish bishop, explorer, sinologist, and writer. He was the author of one of the earliest Western histories of China. Published by him in 1585, Historia de las cosas más notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la China (The History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof) is an account of observations of several Spanish travelers in China. An English translation by Robert Parke appeared in 1588 and was reprinted by the Hakluyt Society in two volumes, edited by Sir George T. Staunton, Bart. (London, 1853–54).
Most Reverend Juan González de Mendoza | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Popayán | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Diocese of Popayán |
| In office | 1608–1618 |
| Predecessor | Juan de La Roca |
| Successor | Ambrosio Vallejo Mejía |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 7 June 1593 by Filippo Spinola |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1545 Torrecilla en Cameros (La Rioja (Spain)) |
| Died | 14 February 1618 (aged 72–73) Popayán, Colombia |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Bishop, explorer, sinologist, writer |
| Previous post(s) | Bishop of Lipari (1593–1599) Bishop of Chiapas (1607–1608) |
González de Mendoza's Historia was mostly superseded in 1615 by the work of much more informed Jesuit missionaries who actually lived in China, Matteo Ricci and Nicolas Trigault, De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas. Much of González de Mendoza's work was plagiarised from Escalante's Discurso de la navegacion