Italy 1552-1610
Matteo Ricci was born Oct 6, 1552, in Italy. Ricci was an early missionary to China, when China did not look favorably on foreigners. However, by adopting their customs and knowledge of mathematics and astronomy he was able to preach about the Catholic faith.
In 1571, Ricci entered the Society of Jesus, more commonly known as Jesuits. Ricci studied Philosophy, Theology, and learned from mathematics, cosmology and astronomy directly from Father Christopher Clavius. (1) In 1577, Ricci asked to be sent to the farthest reaches of Asia, and by March of the next year he had left for Goa. In 1580 Ricci was ordained, and by 1582 he was sent to Macau to prepare to enter China. (3) At Macau, Ricci spent a year of studying Mandarin and Chinese customs, and then was finally admitted to China.
In the sixteenth century the communities founded by the Nestorian missionaries in the seventh century and the monks in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries where no longer there, and the new missionaries had to deal with the Chinese suspicion of foreigners. (1) After the death of Saint Francis Xavier, in 1552, there were many fruitless attempts at missionary work, so around 1578 the method was changed. (1)
Instead of trying to push western customs, and Latin in religious rites, the missionaries had to learn Mandarin (the main Chinese language), and the customs of the Chinese, this was to adapt to the Chinese, get accepted into China, and stay there as to complete their missionary work. (3) Even though the missionaries were adapting to Chinese custom, there did not hid that they were Catholics or that they were priests. (1) The missionaries placed a pictures of the Virgin Mary holding the Infant Jesus in their homes to start conversations of Catholicism, and they brought many new items to the Chinese, such as clocks, paintings and maps that the Chinese had not seen, to appeal to the curiosity of the Chinese and show them the missionaries had interesting things to teach. (1)
Ricci settled in Zhaoqing (then a major city in Guangdong province). Rather than immediately trying to preach about Catholicism, he tried to win the hearts of the Chinese by continuing to learn their customs and living a good life. (3) Despite his initial caution in preaching Catholicism, he took the risk of publishing the first Catholic Catechism in Chinese, and made the first map of the world “Great Map of Ten Thousand Countries”, which showed China in relation to the rest of the world. (3)
This was quite a new concept for the Chinese because their maps only featured a few European countries, and these cities were depicted as though they were extremely small compared to the grand Chinese achievements, groveling in the sea around China. (1) Naturally the Chinese were skeptical of the map, and how small a part China seemed to be. Over time, the missionaries were able to explain the process by which it was made and the attention to detail within it, and eventually, the Chinese accepted the map and had more printed in Chinese. (1) The map was an important perception shift for the Chinese as it showed they were not the center of the world and showed how the missionaries (and the rest of the world) had greater learning than the Chinese had supposed. Because of this the Chinese decided that the learning of these missionaries must not be ignored. (1)
In 1589, Ricci travelled from Zhaoqing to Shaozhou (now Shaoguan). In Shazhou Ricci befriended a Confucian scholar, Qu Taisu, and Ricci taught Taisu the rudiments of Mathematics. In return, Taisu introduced Ricci to the upper class mandarin (high military or civil officials). (3) Taisu noted that Ricci’s habit looked similar to a buddhist monk, and suggested that he dress like the Chinese scholar instead. Ricci took the advice when he left Guangdong.
Ricci tried to enter the imperial city of Beijing in 1595, but because of the Sino-Japanese conflict in Korea all foreigners were considered suspect. (3) He left Beijing and traveled to Nanchang and then Nanjing. (3) During his stay at Nanchang, 1595 to 1598, he met two princes, and wrote his first book On Friendship. (3) In 1599, he moved to Nanjing and taught astronomy and geography. (3) In his book, History of the Introduction of Christianity in China, he commented on the effects of his work: The priests had great success teaching the Chinese of geography and astronomy because of their clear explanations.
The Jesuits were highly esteemed.The Chinese did not dare describe them as barbarian, though they would have called foreigners barbaric without a second thought. (3) Encouraged by the reception at Nanjing, Ricci once again to enter Beijing, and in 1601 he was finally admitted, accompanied by a Spanish Jesuit, Diego Pantoja. (3) From then on he never left Beijing, and dedicated the rest of his life to the Chinese people, teaching them science and preaching the gospel. (3)
His efforts to attract the Chinese intelligentsia lead him in contact with many outstanding personalities, including Li Zhizao, Xu Guangqi, and Yang Tingyun who became known as the Three Pillars of the Early Catholic Church in China. (3) By the time Ricci died, he had converted 2,500 Chinese, many of whom were in the upper classes. (2) Feng Yingjing, a friend of Ricci’s, remarked that “[Ricci] treated the affairs of our fathers as if they were his own and our fathers in turn treated his as if they were ours.” (3) This attitude wonderfully sums up Ricci’s work in China. During Ricci’s time in Beijing he wrote several books in Chinese: The Secure Treatise on God (1603), The Twenty-five Words (1605), The First Six Books of Euclid (1607), and The Ten Paradoxes (1608).
Works Referenced
- Matteo Ricci http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13034a.htm
- Matteo Ricci, SJ (1552-1610) https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/16th-and-17th-century-ignatian-voices/matteo-ricci-sj
- Matteo Ricci https://www.britannica.com/biography/Matteo-Ricci
Further Reading
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