Life
Matteo Ricci was born in Macerata, Ma Erkai, Italy in p>1552. His family runs a Lee's pharmacy and he is a famous local family. Matteo Ricci has been studying in a middle school run by the Jesuits here, and his father has been worried about Matteo Ricci joining the Jesuits.
Matteo Ricci came to Rome at the age of 16, studied at Dorea College in Saint-Vincent, and joined the Jesuits on the day of the Virgin ascensiontide in 1571. In 1572, he studied philosophy and theology at the Roman Academy sponsored by the Jesuits, and studied celestial arithmetic under the mathematician Christopher Klau, who was also his teacher. During this period, he also learned Latin and Greek, and he also used Portuguese and Spanish.
A trip to India
In p>1577, Matteo Ricci was allowed to preach in the Far East. On March 24th, 1578, Matteo Ricci set out from Lisbon and went to India to preach with 14 other Jesuits. All the way around the Cape of Good Hope and through Mozambique, after six months' voyage, we finally arrived in Goa, India, the most important Portuguese colony in Asia, on September 13th. The journey was very hard. Before reaching Goa, 13 of the 4 slaves from Mozambique on board died.
Before Matteo Ricci came to India, due to Francis Xavier's praise of India and the apotheosis of the church, what he heard about India was very fascinating, and it was easier to preach here. But the contrast of reality puzzled him. In 158, he wrote a letter in Portuguese to Marfi, a Jesuit historian, saying, "If you look at explanatory books and maps about India and Japan, you will find obvious fallacies everywhere." However, the Jesuits spread religion very smoothly in Japan, and followers of Nie Storey Sect (Nestorianism) were also found in India. This made Matteo Ricci and them very excited mentally.
Matteo Ricci preached in India for four years. In the meantime, he also studied humanities in the theological seminary in Goa. After he was promoted to priest on July 26th, 158, he studied theology. In India, he realized that local people should also be allowed to learn European cultures such as philosophy, teachings and theology, and wrote to the Jesuit headquarters to raise this issue. He thinks that if "they are prevented from holding positions in association with others-getting ahead through learning-I am worried that they will hate us, and the main purpose of our Jesuits in India, the mission of influencing pagans and converting them to our sacred beliefs, will come to naught." This view has been consistent throughout his life, which is also his attitude after he entered China. The biography of Matteo Ricci written by Luo Guang said that it was "he won the respect of Chinese literati and died in this spirit."
Arriving in Macau
Due to the closed door policy of the Ming Dynasty, the previous missionaries were unable to enter China to preach, but only stayed in Macau. Therefore, Father Michele de Ruggieri recommended Matteo Ricci to Fan Lian, the chief inspector of the East. In 1582 (ten years of Wanli), Matteo Ricci was called to China to preach and arrived in Macau on August 7th.
Missionaries want to attract China people by writing Catholicism in Chinese. "Practice writing in their language as a means to attract and capture their hearts." So they first studied Chinese in Macau. Matteo Ricci, who began to learn Chinese, was very excited about Chinese characters that were completely different from pinyin, and felt very incredible. In addition, when I was in Macau, it happened that a Japanese envoy was sent by, and Matteo Ricci took this opportunity to learn a little Japanese.
First stop in China: Zhaoqing
In p>1584, Matteo Ricci and Father Luo Mingjian were allowed to live in Zhaoqing, Guangdong. They claimed to be from "Tianzhu" to China officials, which made China people think they were Buddhists. Matteo Ricci explained why he came to China: "We are priests from the far west, because we admire China and hope to stay and serve God here until we die." He dare not answer the purpose of missionary directly, otherwise he may be expelled. In order to preach, they brought many articles from the west, such as the Madonna, maps, astrolabes and prisms. Among them is Euclid's Elements of Geometry. Matteo Ricci brought various new things from the West, which attracted many curious people in China. In particular, the map he brought has opened the eyes of China people.
Matteo Ricci, who entered China, praised China civilization very much: "China's greatness is unparalleled", "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. "Medicine, natural science, mathematics and astronomy are all very proficient." But he also found that "science is not the research object among China people."
In August of this year, Xianhua Temple was established in Zhaoqing, and missionary work began. At first, preaching was very low-key. Priests are cautious and concentrate on 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 from afar. They hung a portrait of the Virgin Mary here, and many scholars, officials and even monks came to bow down. They were very excited. But from the Chinese point of view, this is more out of courtesy than religious significance. There are also accounts that they are worried that when people in China see the portrait of Mary, they will mistakenly think that their God is a woman and hang up the image of Christ instead.
In p>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 the knowledge of modern geography. Matteo Ricci took the opportunity to explain various western things and introduced their Catholic beliefs at the same time. They translated the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Praise of the Virgin Mary, as well as 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, whether it is the establishment of "Xianhua Temple" or the publication of "A Record of God", China people always regard it as a Buddhist school, and China people still don't know much about Christianity.
second stop: the illustrations of Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi in
Elements of Geometry in Shaozhou. In the summer of the seventeenth year of Wanli (1589), the new governor of Guangdong appropriated the western-style building where Matteo Ricci lived, so Matteo Ricci moved to Shaozhou. While in Shaozhou, Matteo Ricci had an accident. They were robbed by robbers. Although Matteo Ricci was slightly injured, fortunately, they scared off the robbers, and they were arrested soon. During his stay in Shaozhou, another misfortune was that two of Matteo Ricci's subordinates died one after another. Father Mai Andong died in 1591; Father Shi Fangxi also died in 1593. Another priest, Luo Mingjian, has already returned to Europe, and now Matteo Ricci is the only one engaged in missionary work in China. I am gratified that Qu Taisu, 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. Thanks to Qu Taisu's propaganda, Matteo Ricci's self-made planetarium, globe and sundial for timing were given to senior officials, and Matteo Ricci's reputation gradually spread among local dignitaries, during which he was invited by Qu Taisu's friends to visit Nanxiong.
In Shaozhou, he studied the Four Books and translated it into Latin for the first time. Through the contact with Qu Taisu and many other upper-class people in China, Matteo Ricci found that his previous Buddhist monk costume was not respected in China society at that time, and his social status was relatively low. In order to communicate with officials in China more conveniently, Matteo Ricci began to grow hair and beard in 1594 with the consent of Fan Lian, and put on the clothes of Confucian scholars at that time.
Third stop: Nanchang
In p>1595 (the 23rd year of Wanli), Matteo Ricci got the opportunity to go to Nanjing on the pretext of treating the son of an official who worked in the north. However, after arriving in Nanjing, the officials accompanied by 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 return to Nanchang and was approved to live here. On September 22, 1596, Matteo Ricci successfully predicted an eclipse here, which made him become a famous figure soon. During this period, he made many Confucian dignitaries and was warmly treated by King Jian 'an. In his report to the Jesuits, he explained the reasons for his fame: first, because 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 in Chinese about the Western Countries to introduce his memory methods. Third, it can use the four books and five classics to preach the Christian doctrine; Fourth, his knowledge of natural science; Fifth, it is said that he can alchemy; Sixth, someone asked him for advice on Christianity. In addition, in this year, Matteo Ricci wrote a book on friendship in order to practice writing articles in Chinese, which was unexpectedly appreciated by scholars.
In p>1596, Matteo Ricci was appointed by Van Lian as the head of China parish of Jesuits, 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 the emperor of China, so as to achieve a strong guarantee for missionary work in China. But also sent many gifts from Macau for Emperor China.
fourth stop: Nanjing
Matteo Ricci, who accepted the new task, began to plan his trip to Beijing. Not long after, he contacted Wang Zhongming, who took office as the minister of Nanjing Ritual Department in the north, to take him to Nanjing, and Wang Zhongming also said that he would take him to Beijing. So on June 25th, 1598, Matteo Ricci and another priest, Lazzaro Cattaneo, left Nanchang for Nanjing with Wang Zhongming. They arrived in Nanjing in early July, and Matteo Ricci arrived in Beijing on September 7th. However, at that time, when Japan invaded Korea, Matteo Ricci, as a foreigner, could not stay in Beijing for a long time, and met with financial difficulties. He had to return after living for more than a month and went to Nanjing on February 6 of the following year [1].
During his stay in Nanjing, Matteo Ricci made many celebrities with the help of Qu Taisu, such as Ye Xianggao, assistant minister of Nanjing Ritual Department, Li Zhi and Xu Guangqi. 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 a monk named Xue Lang, the great Hoonji monk, in this debate, Matteo Ricci obviously gained the upper hand with his scientific speculation. He also built the fourth Catholic church in the mainland in Chongli Street (now Shangshu Lane) in Hongwugang, Zhengyangmen (now Guanghuamen), and his address in Zhuanwan of Luosi in the west of the city later became a famous Catholic church-Shigu Road Catholic Church. These activities made Nanjing one of the most important missionary centers in the history of Catholicism in China.
Live in Beijing forever
The statue of Matteo Ricci in 16 (twenty-eight years of Wanli). On May 18th, Matteo Ricci went to Beijing again with Father Diego de Pantoja and prepared gifts for the emperor, and arrived in Beijing on January 24th, 161. Presented the bell, Bible, Atlas of the Nations, Atlantic piano and other objects, which won the trust of Ming Shenzong. In 161, Ming Shenzong issued a decree to allow Matteo Ricci and others to live in Beijing for a long time. However, the court in China didn't notice that Matteo Ricci lived in Beijing for a long time in order to spread Christianity.
afterwards, Matteo Ricci made friends with China literati by enriching his knowledge. Often talk with guests about God, soul, heaven and hell. At the same time, he compiled new books, including Twenty-five Words written in Chinese, which was respected by many intellectuals in China. By 165, there were 2 Catholics in Beijing, and several of them were ministers or ministers. One of the most famous, and later the most influential, was Xu Guangqi, an academician who was a scholar.
Matteo Ricci died in Beijing on May 11th, 161 (thirty-eight years of Wanli) and was buried in Erligou outside Pingze Gate. Before his death, Nicolas Longlbardi was appointed to take over the post in the church.
Achievements
Spreading Catholicism
nestorius School of Christianity (Nestorianism) was once popular in China during the Tang Dynasty, but after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, there were basically no Christians in China. Matteo Ricci can be said to be one of the pioneers of Catholicism in China. He successfully met the emperor in Beijing, and established a good reputation and relationship among the scholar-officials, which opened the door for other missionaries to enter China in the future, and also created the way of missionaries' activities in China for more than 2 years in the future: on the one hand, spreading Christianity in Chinese; On the other hand, using natural science knowledge to win the favor of China people.
Matteo Ricci maintained a tolerant attitude towards the traditional customs in China. He allowed the believers in China to continue the traditional worship of heaven, ancestors and Confucius. According to his understanding, these are only rituals to respect ancestors; As long as there are no superstitious elements such as prayer and worship, it does not violate Catholic teachings in essence. Matteo Ricci advocated calling the Catholic "God" by "God" ("God" in English or Deus)； in Latin). However, he also thinks that the Catholic "God" already exists in China's thought, because the traditional "Heaven" and "God" in China are essentially the same as the "One True God" mentioned by Catholicism. Matteo Ricci himself wore the clothes of China scholars. Matteo Ricci's missionary strategies and methods have always been followed by Jesuit missionaries who followed him to China, which is called "Matteo Ricci Rules".
Italian missionaries such as Matteo Ricci have achieved great success in China. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, when the Qing army entered the customs, the Empress of the Emperor wrote a letter to convert to Catholicism and asked the Pope for support (this letter is still in the Vatican). Kangxi of Qing Dynasty still reused Italian missionaries. However, the controversy among other Catholic churches in Europe over the traditional custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors and respecting Confucius in China weakened Matteo Ricci and others' success because of the influence of these customs on Catholicism in China at that time. In the Kangxi period, Spanish missionaries appealed to the Pope and obtained a decree from the Pope in order to crowd out Italian missionaries in the Philippines and China, claiming that Matteo Ricci and others allowed China people to worship their ancestors, which violated Catholic teachings, and sent special envoys to China to meet the emperor, who was arrogant and argued with Kangxi. Kangxi thought that "there is no unfaithful and unfilial immortal in the world" and said that this special envoy "