Francisco Diaz (1606-1646) was a Dominican missionary from Spain who had a significant impact on the study of Sinology. The academic community has limited understanding of his life and works, with a lack of specialized descriptions in Chinese literature and insufficient detailed records in Western literature. Although Diaz was not as well-known as other missionaries, his works had a profound impact on later Sinology research. On the basis of previous research, this article attempts to comprehensively introduce Diaz's life and works through the collection of new information, including a new copy of the "Han Xi Dictionary", as well as the textual content of his works such as the title, symbol identification, writing year, preface, incomplete situation, and main text style.

1、 Diaz's Life

Diaz was born in Spain in 1606 and joined the Dominican Order as a deacon at around the age of 25. In 1632, as a missionary, he went to the province of San Rose and arrived in Manila, Philippines via Seville to learn Chinese and Minnan dialects. In 1634, he arrived in Fu'an, China to preach and participate in discussions on Chinese etiquette issues and religious court investigations. In 1636, he traveled to Manila with Franciscan missionary Lian Dang carrying an investigation report, but separated on the way. Diaz stayed in Taiwan, while Lian Dang continued on to the Philippines. In 1637, due to the influence of the religious case, Diaz's missionary activities were hindered. After being arrested, he requested to go north to Zhejiang Province to preach and went north with Li Yufan. Along the way, he prevented Chinese missionaries from worshipping their ancestors according to Confucian tradition, and was eventually expelled and imprisoned. In 1640, he arrived in Manila and began writing Chinese grammar books and dictionaries. In 1642, he returned to Fu'an for secret preaching and participated in the revision of the "Introduction to the Catholic Church Q&A. In 1645, there was a dispute with the villagers over etiquette, and their request for protection was unsuccessful. The church was destroyed and Diaz was injured. In 1646, Diaz's health deteriorated and he eventually passed away.

2、 Diaz's Works

Diaz's copy of the "Hanxi Dictionary" has been circulated among sinologists in various European countries and has become an important resource for learning Chinese. The manuscript is known to be stored in the Jagiellonian University Library in Poland, the handwritten copy is stored in the Vatican Library, and the revised version is stored in the National Library of France and the Vatican Library. The collection of the Royal Library of Berlin in Germany is the "Chinese Dictionary of Castilian Interpretation", arranged in alphabetical order, with a total of 7169 words. The handwritten copy of "Chinese and Western Vocabulary" in the collection of the Vatican Library was copied by Antonio Montesqui, and the content is consistent with the original manuscript, but the layout is different. The French National Library has a handwritten copy A of the "Chinese Western Dictionary" with 1479 word groups and 7430 Chinese characters. The annotation style is different from other versions. The remaining copy in the Leiden University Library in the Netherlands is another version, with a total of 417 pages in the main text and 11 blank pages afterwards. The order of Chinese characters is consistent with the Berlin version. The manuscript collection of the Bavarian Library in Germany includes the main text (phonetic dictionary), character list, and introduction to traditional Chinese culture, which is basically consistent with the remaining manuscript collection of the Leiden University Library. The Vatican Library's handwritten manuscript A, the "Sino Western Dictionary," consists of five parts. The first part is the Sino Western Dictionary, the second part is the "Explanation of Filial Piety in Holy Religion," the third part is the "Q&A on Visiting Guests," and the fourth part is scattered content.

3、 Conclusion

Emphasizing that the development of the history of Chinese and foreign dictionaries is not always gradual, the inheritance and imitation of excellent dictionaries have a significant impact on the history of dictionaries. Diaz and his works, although not widely known, have had a profound impact on the compilation of later dictionaries, such as Ye Zunxiao's Hanla Dictionary. The article provides a detailed account of Diaz's life and seven copies of the "Han Xi Dictionary", laying the foundation for further research.