GONZÁLEZ de MENDOZA, JUAN. – Born at Torrecilla de Cameros (Spain) in 1545, around 1563 he entered the Order of the Hermits of S. Augustine in Mexico. Having returned to Spain, in 1580 Philip II appointed him ambassador to China. In 1581 he reached Mexico; however, after receiving information about China and encountering various difficulties, he abandoned the undertaking, returned to Spain in 1582, and continued his journey as far as Rome.
There he wrote the celebrated work: Historia de las cosas mas notables, ritos y costumbres del gran Reyno de la China. It was the first book to deal extensively and systematically with China and consequently enjoyed enormous success. In 1593 G. was appointed bishop of Lipari (Sicily), in 1607 bishop of Chiapa, and in 1608 bishop of Popayán, where he died on 14 February 1618.