Istoria o Zavoevanii Kitaia Manzhurskimi Tatarami, Sostoiashchaia v 5 Knigakh, Sochinennaia g. Vozhe de Brunem B. et P.D.M. [History of the Conquest of China by the Manchurian Tatars in 5 parts, Compiled by Vojeu de Brunem; Translated from French by A.R.] de [Jouve, P. Joseph] - 1788

Moscow: Typograficheskaya Company,, 1788. First and only Russian edition. 8vo, pp.1-96, (73)-168, (193)-603. Text in Russian. Bound in period Russian mottled full calf, neatly rebacked. Spine with raised bands and dark red gilt lettered label. 18th century owner's inscription on verso of the first free endpaper: "Iz knig Fedora skago." Chinese chop on title page. A very good copy. A history of the Manchurian conquest of the Ming Empire in the 17th century and the rise of the Qing Dynasty, translated from the original French edition published in Lyon in 1754. The author behind the pseudonym "Vozhe de Brunem," was Joseph Jouve, 1701-1758, a Jesuit scholar from Lyon. In the Preface he states that this book is an extract from the "History of China" compiled by the Jesuit missionary Moyriac de Mailla, 1669-1748, who lived in China for 45 years, learned the Manchu language and was close to the Kangxi Emperor. Mailla's multi-volume work based primarily on Chinese sources was published in 1777. Jouve systematised and commented on Mailla's text, and also gave a short biography of Mailla in his Preface. This Russian edition was issued at a period of high interest in China and everything Chinese in Russian high society. During the reign of Catherine the Great when the Russian nobility actively collected Chinese art, porcelain and jewellery, Chinese literature and philosophy was translated and published in magazines and books. Our "Istoria" was issued by the famous Russian publisher and bookseller Nikolai Novikov, 1744-1818, whose editions were known for their high quality. Svodny Katalog XVIII 2275. French edition: Cordier BS 629; Löwendahl 468; Lust 436; Morrison II p. 32. One copy only found in Worldcat (Harvard)