Augustinian Monks in the Qing Imperial Court
Cultural and religious exchange between China and the West is not something unique to recent history. This summer, CGCM faculty associate Eugenio Menegon visited Druento, Italy, home of Discalced Augustinian Sigismondo Meinardi da San Nicola (1713-1767). Sigismondo spent 30 years in the Qing Imperial Court in Beijing. Menegon has found hundreds of Sigismondo’s letters, many of them sent to his brother Francesco, a lawyer and priest living in his native Druento. Menegon is using these letters for his current book project on Europeans in Beijing during the 18th century.