西班牙人受到了古代關於東洋豐富資產神話魅力的影響，他們為了尋找這些傳說 中的亞洲國家而到了美國。在十六、十七世紀期間，對許多西班牙人來說，擁有不同名稱的 中國，是可使其「美夢成真」的重要區域之一。 雖然葡萄牙人搶先一步，終於，經由對菲律賓的征服以及拓殖，通往中國與臺灣之路開 放後，有關中國之西班亞文著作隨即繁盛起來，創立了西方在十六世紀關於中國最重要的資 料庫;但這些資料卻是由一些翻譯和幻想的作品當中所產生的。 在十六、十七世紀中，有關中國之西班牙文著作是從宗教、商業以及帝國的觀點來看中 國。在文學方面，對中國的參考價值不是非常地重要;但是從歷史、社會描寫以及語言學習的 角度來看，西班牙文著作卻是相當重要的。舉例來說，Rada就提供了我們明朝生活的見證; Gonzalez de Mendoza則寫了西方最有權威的十六世紀中國歷史。而西方第一本中文字典也 是由西班牙人執筆。 有關中國之西班牙著作，其風格是在三點主要因素的影響之下而改變; 一、西班牙局勢的改變 二、在菲律賓與中國人直接的接觸與衝突 三、滲入中國的宗教與政治計畫失敗 最初的熱忱被失敗和衝突所沖淡，十七世紀之後，西班牙國王便失去了對中國的興趣。 於是，其他國家取代西班牙的地位，成為中國通的權威，而在西班牙世界的中國研究則侷限 於宗教人士，儘管有困難存在，這些宗教團體仍將其興趣投注於在中國傳播福音。

　　　　　Spanish people were under the mythical spell of the ancient tales about the bountiful riches of the East. They went to America in search of those mythical Asian places. And China, under different names, was one of the most important sources of "dreams" for many Spaniards during the 16□ and 17□ centuries. Finally, though the Portuguese were first, it was through the conquest and colonization of the Philippines, that the way to the Middle Kingdom and Taiwan were opened, and the Spanish writings about China flourished, creating the most important Western bank of data about China in the 16□ century; but those data were accompanied by several interpretations and fantasies. Spanish writings on China of the 16□ and 17□ centuries look to the Middle Kingdom from a religious, commercial and imperial viewpoint. In the literary works, the references to China are not very important; but, in the fields of history, social descriptions and language study, Spanish writings are quite important. Rada, for example, offered us a firsthand account of the life in Ming China; and Gonzalez de Mendoza wrote the most authoritative Western history of China in the 16□ century. And the first Western dictionaries of Chinese were also written by Spaniards. The tone of the Spanish writings on China changes under the influence of three main factors: a) the changes in the situation of Spain; b) the direct contact and conflict with the Chinese in the Philippines, and c) the failure of the religious and political plans to penetrate China. The initial enthusiasm was tempered by failures and conflicts, and the Spanish Crown lost interest in China after the 17□ century. Then, other countries overtook Spain as the leading expert in China, and Chinese studies in the Spanish world were restricted to the religious orders, interested, in spite of the difficulties, in evangelizing China.