This paper investigates the influence of geographical distance on the practices and concepts of Jesuit administration in the early modern period. It discusses in particular select letters by Alessandro Valignano from East Asia, to demonstrate how loyal Jesuits in the Far East asked for administrative adjustments in order to overcome the enormous infrastructural difficulties involved in upholding constant epistolary communication with Rome. Valignano over and again stressed both the difference and the distance between Asia and Europe and thought that both factors necessitated an accommodation of the order’s organizational framework. This case study thus helps address the broader questions of how the members of the Society of Jesus conceived of global space. It becomes clear that, while they hoped for institutional unity and insisted frequently on procedural uniformity, they also openly acknowledged that due to distance and cultural differences there never could exist an entirely homogeneous, single global Jesuit space.

中文翻译：

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“印度和日本的政府不同于欧洲的政府”：亚洲耶稣会士关于基础设施、行政空间和全球权力管理的可能性

本文研究了地理距离对近代早期耶稣会管理实践和观念的影响。它特别讨论了来自东亚的亚历山德罗·瓦利安诺 (Alessandro Valignano) 的精选信件，展示了远东的忠实耶稣会士如何要求行政调整，以克服与罗马保持持续的书信交流所涉及的巨大基础设施困难。Valignano 一再强调亚洲和欧洲之间的差异和距离，并认为这两个因素都需要调整秩序的组织框架。因此，本案例研究有助于解决更广泛的问题，即耶稣会的成员如何构想全球空间。很明显，