Styl Tomasza Dunina Szpota SJ w Historiae Sinarum Imperii: Nowożytna łacina erudycyjna jako język opisu i interpretacji świata chińskiego

The article attempts to analyze the style of Tomasz Dunin Szpot SJ on the basis of his work Historiae Sinarum Imperii. It demonstrates that the author employs a highly self-conscious form of early modern scholarly Latin, combining academic rigor, classical periodic rhetoric, and missionary-theological narration. Szpot’s style fulfills cognitive, persuasive, and interpretative functions: it enables the translation of Chinese realities into the language of Latin culture and endows the history of China with a providential meaning. The analysis is based on numerous quotations from the original text, illustrating the author’s syntax, vocabulary, rhetorical figures, and conceptual strategies.