本書是西班牙道明會嗃呣𠿢（JuanCobo）神父，為了向華人宣揚天主教義及西方科學知識，在馬尼拉當地閩南人的幫助下完成翻譯工作，而後在華人刻工的協助下，於1593年完成刻版印刷傳世。書分為九個章節，前三章主要為介紹天主教教義，後六章則是有關天文、地理及動植物的科學知識，並附上生動的圖說，為現存世界上最早以閩南語將十六世紀西歐知識譯成漢字的書籍，具體呈現大航海時代閩南人與西班牙人在宗教、科學知識交流的過程與成果，為人類「世界記憶」（MemoryoftheWorld）的重要資產。ThisbookwaswrittenbySpanishDominicanmissionaryJuanCobo,whowishedtospreadCatholicismandwesternscientificknowledgetoChinesepeople.ItstranslationwascompletedinManilawithhelpfromlocalHokkienpeople,anditwasprintedin1593withaidfromChinesetypographers.Thebookhadninechapters;thefirstthreechaptersmainlyintroducedCatholicdoctrines,whiletheremainingsixchapterscontainedscientificknowledgefromfieldssuchasastronomy,geography,zoology,andbotany,whichwerecomplementedwithvividgraphicillustrations.Thisbookwasconsideredtheearliestworkthattranslated16thcenturyWesternEuropeanknowledgeintoHokkienwithChinesecharacters.ItbrilliantlypresentedtheprocessandachievementsofHokkien-SpanishexchangesinreligiousandscientificknowledgeintheAgeofDiscovery.Itisalsoanimportantandpreciousassetof“MemoryoftheWorld“forthemankind.
