Martino Martini

Martino Martini was an Italian Jesuit missionary whose work in China combined cartography, history, astronomy, and cultural mediation. His Novus Atlas Sinensis, published in 1655, introduced European readers to a detailed geographical account of China, while his historical writings helped make Chinese history influential in European scholarship. Martini also represented the Jesuit mission in debates over the Chinese Rites before returning to Hangzhou, where he died in 1661.