Francisco Varo
Encyclopedia
Francisco Varo was a Domincan monk, missionary in China, and author of the first grammar of Mandarin Chinese, "Arte de la lengua mandarina" (1703). His Chinese names were Wan Fangjige 萬方濟 and Wan Jiguo 萬濟國.
. On October 8, 1643 Varo joined the Domincan order in the convent of San Pablo. Varo then embarked on his journey to China when Juan Bautista de Morales recruited volunteers to cary out missions in the East, Varo was among them. He began a journey to China via Mexico and the Philippines. On June 12, 1646, Varo sailed to Veracuz in Mexico from Sanlucar de Barrameda. The trip to Manila in the Philippines was delayed by the presence of Dutch ships, but they started out from April 12, 1648, arriving in early July.
It was planned form the beginning that Varo go to China, but he still spent a year among the Chinese community in Manila
to learn the language
. On July 10, 1649, he departed from Pasig, near Manila, and arrived on August 3 in Fujian, at a part near Amoy, and then moved onto Fuan to his mission. Fujian's coast came under attack by the Ming dynasty
loyalist Koxinga
, who was very active between 1624 to 1662. the Qing Emperor ordered the avacuation of the coast in 1662 to undermine support for Koxinga, which allowed Spainish, Portuguese, and Dutch influence to increase on the coast. From 1671 to 1672 Varo was exiled to Canton
by the Qing dynasty
government for religious reasons.
Varo studied the Chinese language there, both Mandarin and the local dialect
. He was among the few who managed to master the complicated form of the language of the legal system and formal hearings
. His superiors made him Chinese teacher for other missionaries.
He was appointed Vicar provincial repeatedly. On January 31, 1687, he was elected Vicar Apostolic of the provinces of Guangdong
, Yunnan
, and Guangxi
.
He died in Fuzhou
, China.
. During his exile in 1671 he wrote "The Manifestor and Declaration", two treatises heavily influenced by the though of his boss Juan Bautista de Morales and were later used as the basis of the decress of the nuncios in the East Indies and China. His mail is an excellent source about life in the missions of his time.
He also wrote two Romanized Chinese dictionaries, "Vocabulario da lingoa mandarina", in Portuguese, and finished in 1670, and the "Vocabulario de la lengua Mandarina" in Spanish, finished in 1692.
His most important work was "Arte de la lengua mandarina" (1703), the first grammar of The Chinese language by a western which survived, it which was published after his death. Varo knew of a previous grammar by Francisco Diaz, and possibly the work of Juan Bautista de Morales, grammars which have both been lost, and he was also influnced by the grammar of Nebrija. Varo's grammar is not of the Mandarin Chines of Beijing, so it is not a "predecessor" of modern Standard Mandarin, but it is a Koine which was spoken between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries in Nanjing.
Life
Varo was born in the city of SevilleSeville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
. On October 8, 1643 Varo joined the Domincan order in the convent of San Pablo. Varo then embarked on his journey to China when Juan Bautista de Morales recruited volunteers to cary out missions in the East, Varo was among them. He began a journey to China via Mexico and the Philippines. On June 12, 1646, Varo sailed to Veracuz in Mexico from Sanlucar de Barrameda. The trip to Manila in the Philippines was delayed by the presence of Dutch ships, but they started out from April 12, 1648, arriving in early July.
It was planned form the beginning that Varo go to China, but he still spent a year among the Chinese community in Manila
Chinese Filipino
A Chinese Filipino derived from two words: "Tsino" and "Pinoy" ) is a Philippine national of Chinese ethnicity but born/raised in the Philippines....
to learn the language
Lan-nang
Lan-nang is the Philippine variant of Hokkien. It is a subdialect of the Amoy dialect of Xiamen, Fujian, China. Lan-nang is spoken among the Chinese and Filipino residents of the Philippines. It is characterized by loanwords from Tagalog, Spanish, and Cantonese, as well as its emphasis on...
. On July 10, 1649, he departed from Pasig, near Manila, and arrived on August 3 in Fujian, at a part near Amoy, and then moved onto Fuan to his mission. Fujian's coast came under attack by the Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
loyalist Koxinga
Koxinga
Koxinga is the customary Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong , a military leader who was born in 1624 in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese merchant/pirate, and his Japanese wife and died in 1662 on the island of Formosa .A Ming loyalist and the arch commander of...
, who was very active between 1624 to 1662. the Qing Emperor ordered the avacuation of the coast in 1662 to undermine support for Koxinga, which allowed Spainish, Portuguese, and Dutch influence to increase on the coast. From 1671 to 1672 Varo was exiled to Canton
Canton
- Administrative divisions :* Canton , territorial/administrative subdivision in some countries, notably Switzerland* Township , known as canton in Canadian French- China :...
by the Qing dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
government for religious reasons.
Varo studied the Chinese language there, both Mandarin and the local dialect
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
. He was among the few who managed to master the complicated form of the language of the legal system and formal hearings
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
. His superiors made him Chinese teacher for other missionaries.
He was appointed Vicar provincial repeatedly. On January 31, 1687, he was elected Vicar Apostolic of the provinces of Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
, and Guangxi
Guangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
.
He died in Fuzhou
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....
, China.
Work
Most of Varo's numerous writings were not printed during his lifetime due to lack of funds. He wrote several religious works, including a treatise on the Chinese Rites controversyChinese Rites controversy
The Chinese Rites controversy was a dispute within the Catholic Church from the 1630s to the early 18th century about whether Chinese folk religion rites and offerings to the emperor constituted idolatry...
. During his exile in 1671 he wrote "The Manifestor and Declaration", two treatises heavily influenced by the though of his boss Juan Bautista de Morales and were later used as the basis of the decress of the nuncios in the East Indies and China. His mail is an excellent source about life in the missions of his time.
He also wrote two Romanized Chinese dictionaries, "Vocabulario da lingoa mandarina", in Portuguese, and finished in 1670, and the "Vocabulario de la lengua Mandarina" in Spanish, finished in 1692.
His most important work was "Arte de la lengua mandarina" (1703), the first grammar of The Chinese language by a western which survived, it which was published after his death. Varo knew of a previous grammar by Francisco Diaz, and possibly the work of Juan Bautista de Morales, grammars which have both been lost, and he was also influnced by the grammar of Nebrija. Varo's grammar is not of the Mandarin Chines of Beijing, so it is not a "predecessor" of modern Standard Mandarin, but it is a Koine which was spoken between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries in Nanjing.
Grammars on Mandarin
- "Arte de la lengua mandarina" (1703)
- .
Varo advised people learning Mandarin (Guanhua) to specifically seek out Chinese from Mandarin speaking provinces to learn the language properly, using NanjingNanjing' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
as an example.