绝大多数对来华传教士活动感兴趣的学者,是从利玛窦、汤若望、南怀仁这样一些早期耶稣会士的事迹和见闻中,开始他们的研究的。毋庸置疑,这几位传教士中的佼佼者对中西文化交流做出了卓越的贡献,他们留下的信件和札记保存了重要的史料。但是,学者们的研究常局限于明末至清代中叶耶稣会士的中文论著,对于 Most scholars interested in the activities of missionaries in China started their research from the stories and insights of some early Jesuits, such as Matteo Ricci, Tom Vernon, and Nan Huai-Ren. Undoubtedly, the leaders of these missionaries have made outstanding contributions to the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures. The letters and notes left by them have preserved important historical materials. However, scholars’ research is often limited to the Chinese treatise of the Jesuits from the late Ming Dynasty to the mid-Qing Dynasty.