Flora Sinensis

Natural history books about China From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Flora Sinensis is one of the first European natural history books about China, published in Vienna in 1656.[1] Its author, Michał Boym, was a Jesuit missionary from Poland (then the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth).[2]

Drawing of a lychee, in Boym's Flora Sinensis.

Focus on the ecosystem of the Far East

The book was the first description of an ecosystem of the Far East published in Europe. Boym underlined the medicinal properties of the Chinese plants.

Seeking patronage by the Shunzhi Emperor and Leopold I, King of Hungary

The book also included pleas for support of the Catholic Church to the Shunzhi Emperor, the Chinese emperor at the time; each page contained a chronogram pointing to the date of 1655, the date of coronation of Emperor Leopold I as the King of Hungary, as Boym wanted to gain the support of that monarch for his mission.

References

External links

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI