Tradurre l’imperatore Kangxi. Autenticità, falsità e infallibilità della Chiesa nella controversia sui riti cinesi

This essay examines the role played by the translation of Emperor Kangxi’s words in the Chinese Rites Controversy. Focusing on the Atti imperiali autentici, it shows how the documents sent to Rome were presented as authentic through archival verification, repeated copies, seals, and successive translations. The issue involved not only the difficulty of understanding Chinese texts, but also the suspicion that missionaries had deliberately altered the emperor’s words. A translation error could transform civil practices into religious and superstitious acts. The essay therefore reconstructs the conflict between Kangxi’s interpretive authority and that of the Roman Church. The controversy also became a debate over ecclesiastical infallibility and the credibility of the Jesuits. Translation thus emerges as a crucial instrument in the political, religious, and cultural struggles between China and Europe.