Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (徐光啟) (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements (幾何原本).

Map of the Far East by Matteo Ricci in 1602.

Matteo Ricci.

Matteo Ricci (October 6, 1552 - May 11, 1610) (Traditional Chinese: 利瑪竇; Simplified Chinese: 利玛窦; Pinyin: Lì Mǎdòu; courtesy name:西泰 Xītài) was an Italian Jesuit priest. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Xu Guangqi (Simplified Chinese: 徐光启; Traditional Chinese: 徐光啟; Pinyin: Xú Guāngqǐ) (1562–1633) was a Chinese agricultural scientist and mathematician born in Shanghai. ... Download high resolution version (540x716, 67 KB)Map of the Far East by Matteo Ricci in 1602. ... Download high resolution version (540x716, 67 KB)Map of the Far East by Matteo Ricci in 1602. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (740x974, 127 KB) Matteo Ricci Painted in 1610 by the Chinese brother Emmanuel Pereira (born Yu Wen-hui), who had learned his art from the Italian Jesuit, Giovanni Nicolao. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (740x974, 127 KB) Matteo Ricci Painted in 1610 by the Chinese brother Emmanuel Pereira (born Yu Wen-hui), who had learned his art from the Italian Jesuit, Giovanni Nicolao. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events April - War between Henry II of France and Emperor Charles V. Henry invades Lorraine and captures Toul, Metz, and Verdun. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Cha can also refer to a Latin American dance, also called the Cha-cha-cha. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Matteo Ricci was born in 1552 in Macerata, then part of the Papal States. Ricci started learning theology and law in a Roman Jesuits' school. In 1577, he filed an application to be a member of a Missionary to India, and his journey began in March 1578 from Lisbon, Portugal. He arrived in Goa, a Portuguese Colony, in September 1578, and four years later he was dispatched to China. Events April - War between Henry II of France and Emperor Charles V. Henry invades Lorraine and captures Toul, Metz, and Verdun. ... Macerata is a town and provincial capital in the Marche region of Italy. ... Coat of arms Map of the Papal States; the reddish area was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, the rest (grey) in 1870. ... Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Location    - Country Portugal    - Region Lisboa  - Subregion Grande Lisboa  - District or A.R. Lisbon Mayor Carmona Rodrigues  - Party PSD Area 84. ... For other uses, see Goa (disambiguation). ...

Ricci in China

In 1582, Ricci started learning the Chinese language and customs in Macao, a Portuguese trading post in Southern China, and became a rarely seen Western scholar who mastered Chinese classical script. The next year saw Ricci move inland and, after a visit to Canton, settle in Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province. Ricci moved there after receiving an invitation from the governor of Zhaoqing at the time, Wang P'an, who had heard of Ricci's skill as a mathematician/cartographer. Ricci stayed there from 1583-1589 before having to leave after a new viceroy decided to expel him. It was in Zhaoqing, in 1584, that Ricci composed the first ever map of the world in Chinese. Gregorian Calendar switch: Year 1582 involved conversion to the Gregorian calendar. ... Guangzhou is the capital and the sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province in the southern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Zhaoqing (肇庆) is a prefecture-level city of Guangdong province in southern China. ... Guangdong, often spelt as Kwangtung, is a province on the south coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

There is now a memorial plaque in Zhaoqing to commemorate his six-year stay there as well as a building set up as a 'Ricci Memorial Centre' although the building itself does not date back to the time of the priest as it was built as recently as the 1860s.

Further travels in China saw Ricci reach Nanjing and Nanchang in 1595, Tongzhou (a port for Beijing) in 1598 and then first reached Beijing on the 7th September 1598. However, because of a Korean/Japanese war at the time, Ricci could not reach the Imperial Palace. After waiting for two months he left Beijing first for Nanjing and also stopped at Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. “Nanking” redirects here. ... Nanchang (Chinese: 南昌; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. ... Tongzhou (通州; pinyin: Tōngzhōu; Wade-Giles: Tungchow) can refer to: Tongzhou District, a district of Beijing, China Tongzhou City, a county-level city in Jiangsu province, China This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... Combatants Korea under the Joseon Dynasty, China under the Ming Dynasty, Jianzhou Jurchens Japan under Toyotomi Hideyoshi Commanders Korea: King Seonjo Crown Prince Gwanghae Yi Sun-sin†, Gwon Yul, Yu Seong-ryong, Yi Eok-gi†, Won Gyun†, Kim Myeong-won, Yi Il, Sin Rip†, Gwak Jae-u, Kim Si-min... Places Kokyo the Japanese Imperial palace in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo; The Forbidden City in Beijing; Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna; Imperial Palace hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip; Imperial Palace from Star Wars. ... Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; Wade-Giles: Peiching or Pei-ching; IPA: ; literally Northern capital;  ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Suzhou (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; ancient name: 吳) is a city on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Lake Taihu in the province of Jiangsu, China. ... Jiangsu (Simplified Chinese: 江苏; Traditional Chinese: 江蘇; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-su; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsu) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. ...

In 1601 he returned to Beijing where he was not initially granted an audience with the Emperor of China but, after he presented the Emperor with a chiming clock, Ricci was finally allowed to present himself at the Imperial court of Wanli thus becoming the first Westerner to be invited into the Forbidden City. Although Ricci was given free access to the Forbidden City he never met the Wanli Emperor but was able to meet important officials and leading members of the Beijing cultural scene. Wanli Emperor Birth and death: Sept. ... For other uses, see Forbidden City (disambiguation). ...

Ricci lived on in China until the end of his life. He died in Beijing on May 11th 1610.

Ricci's approach to Chinese culture

Ricci could speak Chinese as well as read and write classical Chinese(wen yan),the literary language of scholars and officials. Added to this he was known for his appreciation of the indigenous culture of the Chinese. During his research he discovered that in contrast to the cultures of South Asia, that Chinese culture was strongly intertwined with Confucian values and therefore decided that Christianity had to be changed to fit Chinese culture in order to be attractive to the Chinese. Confucius (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kung-fu-tzu), lit. ...

In his early life in China, he referred to himself as a Western Monk, a term relating to Buddhism. He later discovered that Confucian thought was dominant in the Ming dynasty in China. Ricci became the first to translate the Confucian classics into a western language, Latin; in fact "Confucius" was Ricci's own Latinisation. He came to call himself a "Western Confucian" (西儒). The credibility of Confucius helped make Christianity take root. Wenmiao Temple, a Confucian Temple in Wuwei, Gansu Confucian temple in Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan). ... China has a wealth of classical literature, both poetry and prose, dating from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC) and including the Chinese classics texts, or Chinese canonical texts. ...

Ricci also met a Korean emissary to China, Yi Su-gwang. Ricci taught Yi Su-gwang the basic tenets of Catholicism and transmitted western knowledge to him. Ricci gave Yi Su-gwang several books from the west, which became the basis of Yi Su-gwang's later works. Ricci's transmission of western knowledge to Yi Su-gwang influenced and helped shape the foundation of the Silhak movement in Korea. Yi Su-gwang (1563-1628)(Hangul:이수광) was a Korean scholar and a military officer who lived during the Joseon Dynasty. ... Neo-Confucianism (理學 Pinyin: Lǐxué) is a term for a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Song dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang dynasty. ...

Matteo Ricci's grave in Beijing.

The following places and institutions are named after Matteo Ricci: Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 820 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) see also in tomb of Matteo Ricci File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 820 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) see also in tomb of Matteo Ricci File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...

• Ricci Hall, a dormitory at The University of Hong Kong
• Ricci Building, a building at Wah Yan College, Kowloon in Hong Kong
• The Matteo Ricci Study Hall, at the Ateneo de Manila University
• Matteo Ricci College, Kowloon in Hong Kong
• Matteo Ricci College at Seattle Preparatory School and Seattle University
• Sekolah Katolik Ricci in Pancoran, Indonesia
• Taipei Ricci Institute, Taiwan
• Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at the University of San Francisco.
• The Matteo Ricci Society at Fordham University

The University of Hong Kong (HKU ; Chinese: 香港大學; Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 daai6 hok6; Mandarin Pinyin: ) is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong, China. ... Wah Yan College, Kowloon (WYK; traditional Chinese:九龍華仁書院; Jyutping: gau2 lung4 wa4 jan2 syu1 jyun2, Pinyin: Jǐulóng Huárén ShÅ«yuàn; demonym: Wahyanite, pl. ... The Ateneo de Manila University (also called Ateneo de Manila or simply the Ateneo) is a private university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. ... Matteo Ricci College, part of Seattle, Washingtons Seattle University, allows students from Seattle Preparatory School and select other area high schools to graduate with a bachelors degree in humanities or teaching after as little as three years in high school and three years in college. ... Seattle Preps St. ... Centennial Fountain, designed by George Tsutakawa. ... Pancoran is a small district in West Jakarta, Indonesia. ... University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit and Catholic University in San Francisco, California, United States. ... Fordham University is a private, coeducational research university[2] in the United States, with three residential campuses located in and around New York City. ...

Further reading

• Vincent Cronin, The Wise Man from the West: Matteo Ricci and his Mission to China (1955) ISBN 0-00-626749-1
• Jonathan D. Spence, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (1985)
• "Madness of the Wise : Ricci in China", an article by Simon Leys in his book, The Burning Forest (1983), is an interesting account, and contains a critical review of Spence's book

Vincent Cronin (born May 24, 1924 in Tredegar, Wales) is a British historical, cultural, and biographical writer whose works have been widely translated into European languages. ... Jonathan D. Spence (Chinese name: 史景遷, August 11, 1936– ) is a British-born historian and public intellectual specializing in Chinese history. ... Matteo Ricci used the his Memory Palaces to teach the Chinese retoric ...

See also

• Religion in China
• List of Roman Catholic missionaries in China
• Jesuit China missions
• Christianity in China
• 19th Century Protestant Missions in China
• List of Protestant missionaries in China

Chinese monk lighting incense in a temple in Beijing. ... Michel Benoist Giuseppe Castiglione Armand David Matteo Ricci Johann Adam Schall von Bell Ferdinand Verbiest St. ... The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China in the early modern era stands as one of the notable events in the early history of relations between China and the Western world, as well as a prominent example of relations between two cultures and belief systems in the... The Lords Prayer in Chinese language. ... During the last half of the eighteenth and the opening decades of the nineteenth century little was done to advance the cause of Christ in China. ... Beginning in 1807, with the arrival of Robert Morrison of the London Missionary Society and ending in 1953 with the departure of Arthur and Wilda Mathews of the China Inland Mission, foreign Protestant missionaries lived and worked in China. ...

External links

Works

An excerpt from On Chinese Government, Selection from his Journals by Matteo Ricci

An excerpt from The Art of Printing by Matteo Ricci

Ricci's World Map of 1602

Resources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Matteo Ricci

• Fairfield University: Matteo Ricci, S.J.

• A timeline of Matteo Ricci in China

• The Zhaoqing Ricci Center

• Article about the tomb of Matteo Ricci in Beijing

• Matteo Ricci. Catholic Encyclopedia.

• Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History

• (Italian)Rotary Club Macerata Matteo Ricci

• Lamberto Bozzi: The Matteo Ricci Macerata Project

• (Italian) (English) Lamberto Bozzi: Pinocchio in China/Pinocchio nella Cina

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...