The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
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The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
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1246-1328
Founder of the Catholic mission in China. After the Nestorian priest Rabban Bar Sauma (c. 1220-1294) visited from China, Pope Nicholas IV decided to send Giovanni, then serving as a missionary in Persia, further east. Giovanni departed in 1289 with letters to a number of rulers along the way, from the king of Armenia to Kublai Khan (1215-1294) himself. He stopped in India for more than a year and converted some 100 people, but by the time he arrived in China in 1294, Kublai was dead. In 1299 and 1305 he established two churches in Peking, and during this time bought from slavery around 150 boys. These he educated, using the Chinese language as well as Latin and Greek, in Christianity and the Catholic liturgy. He eventually translated the New Testament and Psalms into Chinese, and by the time he died, the See of Zaiton was well established.