Concept
Matteo Ricci
Overview
Matteo Ricci (Italian: [matˈtɛːo ˈrittʃi]; Latin: Matthaeus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610) was an Italian Jesuit who served in the court of Ming dynasty China and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He created the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu, a 1602 world map written in Chinese characters. In 2022, the Apostolic See declared its recognition of Ricci's heroic virtue, thereby bestowing upon him the honorific of a Venerable.
Ricci arrived at the Portuguese settlement of Macau in 1582 where he began his missionary work in China. He mastered the Chinese language and writing system. He became the first European to enter the Forbidden City of Beijing in 1601 when invited by the Wanli Emperor, who sought his services in matters such as court astronomy and calendrical science. He emphasized parallels between Catholicism and Confucianism but opposed Buddhism. He converted several prominent Chinese officials to Catholicism. He also worked with several Chinese elites, such as Xu Guangqi, in translating Euclid's Elements into Chinese as well as the Confucian classics into Latin for the first time in history.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
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The treaty was drawn up in Latin, and two copies were made of it. The Russian ambassadors set their names the first to the copy that remained in their possession, and the Chinese also signed theirs the first, agreeable to the custom observed by European nations, when two equal powers conclude a treaty with each other. On this occasion was observed another custom belonging to the Asiatic nations, and which was…
Voltaire, The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia
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The religious sentiment, however, sits very lightly on the Chinese. Absence of any feeling of the supernatural is perhaps the most remarkable feature of the Chinese character. "Buddhism, was founded, as is generally believed, some centuries before Christ by a Hindoo prince and sage named Gautama. As originally propounded, Buddhism is supposed to have been a purer and more reasonable form of faith than Brahminism…
Voltaire, Voltaire's Romances, Complete in One Volume
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There have been men who have destroyed their own lives in the endeavor to bring that virtue in them to perfection." Tsz-kung asked how to become philanthropic. The Master answered him thus: "A workman who wants to do his work well must first sharpen his tools. In whatever land you live, serve under some wise and good man among those in high office, and make friends with the more humane of its men of education."
Confucius, The Wisdom of Confucius with Critical and Biographical Sketches
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Philosophers who discussed Matteo Ricci
Related ideas
- Gospel
- Holy See
- Indonesia
- Chinese folk religion
- Jesuits
- Latin
- Beijing
- Macau
- Seoul
- South Asia
- Vatican Museums
- Beatification
- Euclid's Elements
- Taiwan
- Brill Publishers
- Google Books
- Joseon
- Buddhism
- Sinosphere
- Silhak
- Fordham University
- Ming dynasty
- Tian
- Christianity
Place in the tradition
Part of Chinese philosophy.