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Secondary sourcePainting1667

Principal Deities of the Chinese

Unknown Chinese artist, with Latin captions by Athanasius Kircher · 1667

A 1667 European engraving from Athanasius Kircher's China Illustrata, showing Confucius grouped with Buddha and Laozi as one of the 'principal deities' of China.

Shows how 17th-century Europeans pictured and labeled Confucius among Chinese 'deities,' reflecting cross-cultural misunderstanding.

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Engraved plate titled in Latin 'Principalia Sinensium Numina exhibens' showing labeled figures: three seated or standing robed deities in halos at top center and sides, a dragon with a tortoise shell between them, and below, armored guardian figures, attendants, a demon with a trident, and figures in clouds.
Unknown Chinese artist, engraving reproduced in Athanasius Kircher, China Illustrata, 1667.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraved plate from the book China Illustrata, published in 1667 by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher. It copies a Chinese image and labels several figures in Latin, including 'Confutius' (Confucius), alongside Buddha, Laozi, and other mythical or divine beings such as a dragon with a tortoise shell.

Why it matters

The print shows how early modern Europeans, relying on Jesuit missionaries' reports, tried to understand Chinese religion and philosophy. By grouping Confucius with gods and legendary creatures, it reveals that Europeans often misunderstood him as a religious deity rather than a philosopher and teacher.

Look closer

  • Why might Confucius have been placed among 'deities' rather than described as a thinker?
  • What does this image tell us about how information about China traveled to Europe in the 1600s?
  • What details in the picture seem based on real Chinese art, and what might have been added or misunderstood by European engravers?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Confucius and Laozi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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