The Book of the Courtier plays a significant role in the history of courtesy literature. Written by Baldassarre Castiglione over the course of twenty years, it remains the most definitive account of the life and culture among the Renaissance nobility. The handiwork of the 16th-centruy diplomat addresses the aristocratic manners of the Italian Renaissance and the constitution of a perfect courtier. It was read widely and influenced the writings of representative figures in Western literature and civilization, such as William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser. The project works on the first Chinese translation of the book from its Italian original.
Baldassare Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier, Dover Publications, 2003
Initially, different editions of the book that have been published over time were compared and contrasted. We began the translation with the fourth edition of Il Libro del Cortegiano by Vittorio Cian in 1947 and the second edition of Il Libro del Cortegiano: con una scelta delle opere minori di Baldassarre Castiglione by B. Maier in 1973. Moreover, we researched and referenced the literature of Renaissance historiography, such as Jacob Burckhardt’s The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, in order to attain a more sophisticated understanding of the Renaissance culture and philosophy. In the process of the translation, the most acclaimed English editions have also been taken into account, i.e. Charles S. Singleton’s translation as well as annotations in 1959, George Bull’s translation in 1967, and so on.
Renaissance court dance
The next phase of the project is to continue with the translation of the book and the revision of annotations. The complete translation of the book is intended for publication. With China’s long-standing solicitude for morality and social manners, the book will add to the discourse of etiquette in the contemporary society.