During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty
The first stop into China: Zhaoqing.
1584, Matteo Ricci and his father Luo Mingjian were allowed to live in Zhaoqing, Guangdong. They claimed to be China officials from "Tianzhu" and made China people think they were Buddhists. Matteo Ricci explained why he came to China: "We are priests from the far west, because we worship China and hope to stay here and serve God until we die." He dare not answer the purpose of missionary directly, otherwise he may be expelled. In order to preach, they brought many things from the west, such as the Madonna, maps, astrolabes and prisms. Among them is Euclid's Elements of Geometry. Matteo Ricci brought all kinds of new things from the West and attracted many curious people in China. Especially the map he brought, which opened the eyes of China people.
Matteo Ricci, who entered China, was full of praise for China civilization: except that "our sacred Catholic faith" has not yet been bathed, "China's greatness is unparalleled in the world" and "China is not only a kingdom, but China is actually a world." He lamented that "Plato's ideal, as a theoretical narrative in the Republic of China, has been put into practice in China." Moreover, he also found that China people are very knowledgeable. "He is proficient in medicine, natural science, mathematics and astronomy." But he also found that "science is not the research object of China people."
In August this year, "Hua Xian Temple" was established in Zhaoqing, and missionary work began. Missionary was low-key at first. Priests are cautious and devote themselves to learning Chinese and etiquette and customs in China, so as to win the trust of China people, especially officials. They wear the costumes of Buddhist monks, thinking that this will win people's favor, and they also think that this is not much different from the costumes of Catholic priests. This also makes China people more convinced that they are monks in the distance. They hung a portrait of the Virgin Mary here, and many scholars, officials and even monks came to bow down. They are very excited. But in the eyes of China people, this is more out of politeness than religious significance. There are also accounts that they are worried that people in China will mistakenly think that their God is a woman when they see the portrait of Mary, and hang up the image of Christ instead.
1584, Matteo Ricci produced and published The Whole Map of Mountains, Seas and Lands, which was the first time that China people came into contact with modern geographical knowledge. Matteo Ricci took the opportunity to explain all kinds of western things and introduce their Catholic beliefs. They translated the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the praise of the Virgin Mary, and the catechism. China people soon became interested in Catholicism. So Matteo Ricci began to distribute the Record of God written by Luo Mingjian, explaining Catholic teachings in Chinese. Many people in China are interested in this book. But in any case, regardless of the establishment of "Hua Xian Temple" or the publication of "The Record of God", China people always regard it as a Buddhist school, while China people still don't know much about Christianity.
[Edit this paragraph] Second stop: Shaozhou
In the summer of the 17th year of Wanli (1589), the new governor of Guangdong appropriated the western-style buildings where Matteo Ricci lived, so Matteo Ricci moved to Shao's Elements to illustrate Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi. State. In Shaozhou, Matteo Ricci had an accident. They were robbed by robbers. Although Matteo Ricci was slightly injured, fortunately, they scared away the robbers and they were quickly arrested. During his stay in Shaozhou, another misfortune was that two of Matteo Ricci's subordinates died one after another. Father Mai Andong 159 1 passed away; Father Shi also died in 1593. Another priest, Luo Mingjian, has already returned to Europe. Now Matteo Ricci is the only one engaged in missionary work in China. To my delight, Qu, a scholar he met in Zhaoqing, became his good friend and disciple, and also helped Matteo Ricci translate the first volume of Euclid's Elements of Geometry. Due to Qu's propaganda, Matteo Ricci's homemade planetarium, globe and sundial for timing were presented to senior officials, and Matteo Ricci's reputation gradually spread among local dignitaries, during which he was invited by Qu's friends to visit Nanxiong.
In Shaozhou, he studied four books and translated them into Latin for the first time. Matteo Ricci, through contact with Qu and many other upper-class people in China, found that his former monk costume was not respected in China society at that time, and his social status was relatively low. In order to communicate with domestic officials more conveniently, Matteo Ricci, with the consent of Fan Lian, began to grow hair and beard from 1594 and put on the clothes of Confucian scholars at that time.
[Edit this paragraph] The third stop: Nanchang
1595 (twenty-three years of Wanli) Matteo Ricci got the opportunity to go to Nanjing on the pretext of treating the son of an official working in the north. But after arriving in Nanjing, the officials accompanying Matteo Ricci gradually lost interest in him, so Matteo Ricci had to try to stay in Nanjing by himself. However, this time it failed. He had to go back to Nanchang and was allowed to live here. In Nanchang, Matteo Ricci met Lu Wanxi, governor of Jiangxi Province, and showed him the prism, western notation and clocks, and explained the contents of western books. He also explained mathematics and sundial timing to local scholars. 1596 On September 22nd, Matteo Ricci successfully predicted a solar eclipse here, making him a famous figure soon. During this period, he made many Confucian dignitaries, was invited by Huang Zhang, a famous scholar at that time, gave lectures and exchanged views at the famous Bailudong Academy, and established friendly relations with Wang Jian, a descendant of the royal family who was enfeoffed in Nanchang.
Royal family members and officials at all levels are very interested in gifts such as globes, glassware and books bound in western style. Matteo Ricci once again held a "popular science" exhibition in his residence, performed advanced mnemonics, published "On Making Friends", and began to write "The Truth of God", and selected quotations from western great men suitable for China's ethics for publication. He gave up the method of building a church and publicly preaching, and further traded the concept of "God" with the "God" that China had since Takaira. Matteo Ricci's three-year missionary career in Nanchang was also a process in which his missionary strategy was gradually formed in his exploration and practice: he had close contacts and friendly dialogues with officials and gentry in Jiangxi, and in the process, he formed a set of successful missionary strategy-"Nanchang missionary model".
In his report to the Jesuits, he explained the reasons for his success in preaching in Nanchang: first, he had never seen foreigners in the local area; Second, Matteo Ricci's memory is so good that many people in China want to learn, so he wrote a book about western countries in Chinese and introduced his memory methods. Third, we can use the four books and five classics to promote Christian teachings; Fourth, his knowledge of natural science; Fifth, it is said that he will be an alchemist; Sixth, he was asked about Christianity.
1596, Matteo Ricci was appointed by Fan Lian as the head of Jesuit China parish, and Matteo Ricci was in charge of missionary activities in China. And instructed Matteo Ricci to find a way to go to Beijing to see Emperor China, thus realizing the powerful guarantee of missionary work in China. I also sent many gifts to Emperor China from Macau.
[Edit this paragraph] Fourth stop: Nanjing
Matteo Ricci, who accepted the new task, began to plan his trip to Beijing. Before long, he contacted Wang Zhongming, who was appointed as the minister of Nanjing does in the north, to take him to Nanjing, and Wang Zhongming also said that he would take him to Beijing. So,1On June 25th, 598, Matteo Ricci and another priest, lazaro Ka Tanjo, left Nanchang for Nanjing together with Wang Zhongming. They arrived in Nanjing in early July, and Matteo Ricci arrived in Beijing on September 7th. However, when Japan invaded Korea, Matteo Ricci, as a foreigner, could not stay in Beijing for a long time and met with economic difficulties. He had to return after living for more than a month and arrived in Nanjing on February 6 the following year.
During his stay in Nanjing, Matteo Ricci, with the help of Qu, made many famous people, such as Ye, Li Zhi, Xu Guangqi and so on. Of course, this is mainly due to people's admiration for his knowledge of natural science. It is worth mentioning that Matteo Ricci also had a debate with Xue Lang, the great monk of Hongzhi. In this debate, Matteo Ricci obviously gained the upper hand with his scientific speculation. He also built the fourth Catholic church in the mainland at Chongli Street, Hongwugang, Zhengyangmen (now Guanghuamen). His address in Luosi Brick Bay in the west of the city later became the famous Catholic church-Shigu Road Catholic Church. These activities made Nanjing one of the most important missionary centers of Catholicism in the history of China.
[Edit this paragraph] Live in Beijing forever.
Matteo Ricci 1600 (twenty-eight years of Wanli) 18 In May, Matteo Ricci went to Beijing again with Father Diego de Pantoga and a gift for the emperor, and arrived in Beijing on 160 1 year1October 24th. Presented the clock, Bible, Atlas of the World, Atlantic piano and other items, and won the trust of Ming Shenzong. 160 1 year, Ming Shenzong wrote to allow Matteo Ricci and others to live in Beijing for a long time. However, the court in China did not notice that Matteo Ricci lived in Beijing for a long time in order to spread Christianity.
Matteo Ricci made friends with China literati by enriching his knowledge. Often talk to guests about God, the soul, the hall and the hell. At the same time, he also compiled new books, including Twenty-five Words in Chinese, which were highly praised by many domestic intellectuals. By 1605, there were 200 Catholics in Beijing, several of whom were priests or ministers. One of the most famous, and later the most influential, is Academician Xu Guangqi, who is a scholar.
Matteo Ricci died in Beijing in May 16 10 (thirty-eight years of Wanli) and was buried in Erligou outside Pingze Gate. Before his death, Nicholas Lombardi was appointed to take over the church.