Davide Bertolotti Storia della Cina dai primi tempi sino all’ambasceria di lord Macartney tratta dagli annali Chinesi..., Rome, Pio Cipicchia, 1828, 16mo, 4 vols.

Linda Zampio D’Ortia

Printed book, 177 × 107 mm

The editor of the book, Davide Bertolotti (1784–1860), lived principally in Milan, Florence, and Turin, the city of his birth.
In addition to writing historical novels and theatrical works, he translated from French and English, and also composed romantic odes. He was particularly known for his popular books on history and geography. La Storia della Cina, a supplement to the series “Complesso della storia universale scritta dagli autori i più distinti,” is a partial, explanatory translation of the important Histoire générale de la Chine (13 vols., 1777–1785), published by Abate Grosier. 
The latter is in turn based on a book by the Jesuit missionary Joseph de Mailla (1669–1748), composed from excerpts and commentaries from Chinese history books, the best known of which is the Tongjian Gangmu 通鑒綱目, edited by the Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200). Bertolotti integrated and updated the text with a detailed historical and iconographic documentation of Chinese customs and traditions. This copy is from the library of Giovanni Vacca (1872-1953), an Italian mathematician and expert sinologist.

Bibliography: G. Bertocci, Repertorio bibliografico delle opere stampate in Italia nel secolo XIX. (Rome: 1880), p. 22; G. Amat di San Filippo, Studi biografici e bibliografici sulla storia della geografia in Italia. (Rome: 1882), I, p. 556; V. Cian, Glialfieriani foscoliani Piemontesi e il romanticismo lombardo piemontese del Primo Risorgimento in Rassegna storica del Risorgimento. XXI. (1934), pp. 707-710, 733, 738.