China and the Chinese Rites Controversy in Dutch Newspapers

In the last quarter of the seventeenth century, developments in both Europe and China changed the manner in which the Middle Kingdom was represented to Dutch readers.1 This chapter explores how newspapers and periodicals printed in the Dutch Republic during the final decades of the seventeenth century reported and discussed Confucius and the so-called Chinese Rites Controversy. In this regard, this chapter examines how changes in the Jesuit mission, combined with developments in production, distribution, and availability of printed media, produced an image of China and its religion and philosophy that was increasingly focused on the Chinese Rites Controversy and the condemnation of the Jesuit missionary approach. Furthermore, over the course of the seventeenth century, Dutch-made news became influenced more and more by French culture and language. These shifts impacted representations of China and Confucius, whereby Dutch printers, publishers, and booksellers produced and distributed a progressively Gallican image of the Middle Kingdom. The early modern culture of news has received considerable attention in recent years. Scholars like Brendan Dooley, Joad Raymond, Joop Koopman, and Paul Arblaster have all advocated an interpretation of news that focuses primarily on production and distribution.2 Their attention has concentrated on the emergence of the periodic press and the distribution of news through international networks of book producers, translators, merchants, missionaries, diplomats, and religious immigrants. Research in this field has also investigated the relationship between news and public opinion. For example, an approach towards news culture as part of the early modern book market has