The book aims to study the cosmogonic works by Fr. Angelo Zottoli S.J., a Jesuit missionary who has been relatively little studied by the recent scholarship but who deserves a special recognition for his theological and philosophical ideas. Moreover, Zottoli was the teacher of Ma Xiangbo (馬相伯 1840-1939) and he played a crucial role in his formation. Knowing more about Zottoli’s works would not only be interesting but it also paves the way to new studies on the complex and multi-layered relationship between European missionaries and Chinese students in Shanghai during the nineteenth century.This book aims to shed light on the importance of cosmogony in the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary environment of Xujiahui. It shows how Zottoli was a teacher and a priest and those two roles reshaped his ideas, his personality and also his relationship with local Chinese converts.weiterlesen