一六○○至一七三○年间的中西文化交流,造就了西学第一阶段的发展。这样的交流可视为中西各自在政治、宗教与思想等三方面因缘际会的历史发展中,所共同交错构成的一个文化场域。就西方而言,这三方面的发展是指:西欧绝对王权的兴起,宗教改革后天主教之传教热潮的全球性扩散,以 The cultural exchange between China and the West from 1600 to 1730 created the first phase of Western learning. Such exchanges can be regarded as a cultural field in which both China and the West have made concerted efforts in the historical development of the three areas of politics, religion and thought because of their interdependence. In the case of the West, the development of these three aspects refers to the rise of absolute sovereignty in Western Europe and the global proliferation of the Catholic missionary boom after the Reformation