Introduction
The Jesuit missions to China in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries represent a short but remarkable page in the history of China and an exciting phenomenon in the life of the Society of Jesus itself. It was the first significant dialogue between European and Chinese cultures; it included both religious and scientific aspects (Morar 14). It is significant that the Society of Jesus is a monastic order of the Roman Catholic Church founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540 (Vishnevskaya 38). The order admitted people of sound mind and, if possible, of good origin with a decent fortune. Meanwhile, the pedagogical activity of the Jesuits was promoted as one of the main objectives of the Society of Jesus.
Extensive and missionary, Jesuits appeared in India, China, the Philippines, the Congo, Ethiopia, and North and South America among other places. Notably, the Jesuits had considerable success in Asia; in China, the Jesuits successfully received the right to proclaim the gospel because of their knowledge of astronomy, mathematics, and other sciences. Their end goal was to penetrate the court with the use of European sciences and to reach the emperor himself (Casanova 6). There were many Jesuits who engaged in research of the natural sciences.
Matteo Ricci was born in Macerata, Italy, to Giovanni Battista Ricci, a naturally pious young man who had already graduated from a Jesuit college in his native city. In 1568 he found himself in Rome and entered the university at the Faculty of Law. However, instead of the master’s chair of the city, which Ricci was to take as the eldest son, in 1571, Matteo petitioned to be enrolled in the Society of the Jesuits (Leto 101). Ricci first studied at the Jesuit Novitiate of St. Andrew and then at the Jesuit College of Rome, where his teachers were the mathematician Christophe Clavey and the theologian Robert Bellarmine. Matteo Ricci served as a missionary of the Society of Jesuits in India.
Furthermore, Ricci became exposed to the Chinese language in Macao. In contrast to other Jesuit predecessors, Ricci’s mission objective was not to preach sacred scripture from a position of omniscience and superiority. Instead, he saw his teachings as a dialogue, and his readers as its participants; so he wrote in Chinese accordingly (Yin 19). Hence, it is essential to analyze the significance of Matteo Ricci and the Italian Jesuits’ mission to China.
Life of Matteo Ricci in China
It is necessary to establish how Matteo Ricci arrived in China and mark significant achievements which the Jesuits accomplished. In 1582 Ricci reached the Portuguese colony of Macao (Leto 101), and a year later, he moved to Zhaoqing, located in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. There, in 1584, he produced the first European-style map of the world in Chinese. Later, Ricci changed several other places of residence in China. In 1583-88 Ricci, along with the Jesuit Michele Ruggieri, compiled the first Portuguese-Chinese dictionary, for which they developed a system of Latin transcriptions of Chinese words. In the winter of 1598, Ricci, with the assistance of the Jesuit Lazzaro Cattaneo, compiled a Chinese-Portuguese dictionary in which the tones of Chinese syllables were indicated by means of diacritical symbols (Mignini 82). In addition, Matteo Ricci, accompanied by the Spanish Jesuit Diego Pantoja, arrived in Beijing after many imprisonments.
Ricci was transporting gifts to Emperor Wanli (Ming dynasty), who referred Ma Tang’s report and Ricci’s presents to the House of Ceremonies for consideration. From there, the answer was received that the countries of the Western Ocean did not recognize the laws of the Celestial Empire and the Heavenly Sovereign’s images (Mignini 85). Accordingly, the chamber advises the Emperor not to accept the presents and to expel the priest to his home. Nevertheless, Wanli ordered a missionary to be summoned to the Purple Palace of the Forbidden City. Through the eunuchs, the Emperor passed on to the missionary numerous questions about his country, customs, traditions, and natural resources. Incidentally, Ricci never had a personal encounter with Wanli, as he led a reclusive lifestyle; even the missionary’s kowtowing rites were performed before the empty throne.
After understanding that a sudden Christianization of China was impossible, the Jesuits prepared the ground for a gradual, “soft” spread of the gospel. The Jesuits used a clever tactic, first gaining the trust of the Chinese without publicizing their missionary aims. Indeed, they realized that if done otherwise, their cause would be doomed to failure with the proud Chinese, but they did not conceal their religion. The Chinese curiosity was eventually piqued, and the Jesuits told them about Christianity; in this way, the gospel began to spread throughout China. Moreover, with a knowledge of cartography, clock-making, astronomy, and geometry, Ricci gradually gained favor with the local intellectual elite (Yin 4). They worked in the Imperial Palace as scholars and translators, for which they received permission to spread Christianity.
Through Ricci’s Jesuit mission, the Imperial Palace was privileged to hear Horace’s ode performed by a chorus of eunuchs accompanied by a harpsichord. In cooperation with civil scholars, Ricci translated into Chinese Euclid’s Elements of Geometry, as well as contributed to a creation of a world map, which contributed to the standing of Jesuits in China (Casanova 349). The efforts of Matteo Ricci led to the first Christian temple in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing.
In order to accomplish his primary purpose of converting as many Chinese as possible to Christianity, Ricci made extensive use of science and technology. Ricci knew that converting the Chinese calendar would be most effective in “proving” the power of Christianity. The question of calendar reform had occupied the Chinese for whom for 200 years, but despite various proposals, nothing was done by the Astronomical Bureau. Ricci succeeded in his appeals and eventually was summoned to improve the calendar (Vishnevskaya 39). This approach demonstrated its effectiveness immediately after Ricci’s death when, thanks to it, an eclipse was accurately predicted.
Hence, the Jesuits communicated with essential people in the Imperial Palace and scientists. Ricci’s role was to teach court officials how to use classes that were already known in the Western world. That is, to use mathematics and mechanics to repair clocks by translating outstanding works to enrich and develop Chinese culture. Moreover, cooperation with scientists also brought results in the form of a new calendar (Vishnevskaya 39). Such Jesuit contributions to the scientific and cultural, and religious development of China contributed significantly to Chinese society’s respect for the Society of Jesuits.
Europe and China’s Relationship Before and After Ricci
The question of the influence of the Jesuit order on the perception of the East in the West and vice versa has remained in focus for centuries. The Chinese Emperor and officials were not inclined to support foreign religions (Morar 15). Nevertheless, they developed their own Chinese tradition and religion. On the other hand, the European rulers were interested in expanding their influence in Asia. Thus, before the arrival of the Jesuit Ricci Mission, relations between China and Europe were open and friendly. This is because the Jesuits planned to return to Europe when Ricci arrived at the Emperor. Otherwise, European scientists were not interested in the culture and beliefs of the Chinese because they thought it was essential to change their radiological beliefs. This was the first reason for the establishment of the Jesuit missions. Thus, it can be concluded that by Ricci’s mission, Europe and China did not have an adjusted relationship and recognize each other’s culture.
The missionaries initially had limited success in China; they could only visit Macao. The Jesuits were isolated from the rest of China and were not permitted to leave the colony (Mignini). The missionaries succeeded in converting several local Chinese to Christianity, but the reluctance of the fathers to learn Chinese made the mission complex. Even after Ricci’s commitment to China, a gradual study of Chinese culture in Europe began. By reading the Jesuit reports, Europeans gained their first insight into the culture of the peoples of Asia. At the same time, the Jesuits demonstrated to the Imperial Palace the cultural peculiarities and achievements of Europe (Mignini). In this way, mutual borrowing of the best examples began because Ricci not only attempted to demonstrate the achievements of astronomy, mathematics, and the culture of European scholars, but he also valued Chinese traditions and language.
Another reason for the significant relationship between China and Europe during the Ricci Mission was the Jesuits’ concept change. During that time, the Jesuits decided, in Christianizing the Chinese, to emphasize Buddhism, which was widespread in China at the end of the sixteenth century. In this way, the Chinese could observe that European beliefs had not distanced themselves from Chinese ideas; this approach is referred to as “accomodationism” (Yin 2). Meanwhile, Matteo Ricci created a new method of evangelization based on emphasizing the similarities between the Chinese classical tradition and Christianity. It was also inspiring that the whole found no signs of idolatry or superstition in the ancient writings. Admittedly, a cult of ancestors was crucial to the Chinese, which had to be recognized, but Ricci regarded it as a secular ritual (Yin 15). Thus, Matteo Ricci’s mission marked the beginning of a favorable relationship between China and Europe based on the exchange of knowledge and the search for common cultural and religious features.
Conclusion
In this way, Matteo Ricci, in the Chinese Emperor’s palace, impressed all with the tabernacles and gained the Emperor’s confidence. Moreover, Ricci created a new way of evangelizing, based on a deep immersion in Chinese culture, examining for similarities in European and Chinese civilizations’ religious and ethical systems. The Europeans gradually began to receive information about life in China, and the imperial house used the occupations of the Europeans. Accordingly, this allowed the demonstration that both civilizations had unique cultures that were interesting to explore and adopt. Therefore, Ricci’s mission enhanced relations between Europeans and the Chinese.
Works Cited
Casanova, Jose. “Locating Religion and Secularity in East Asia Through Global Processes: Early Modern Jesuit Religious Encounters”. Religions, 2018, vol. 9, no. 349. Web.
Leto, Francesca. “Starting From and Beyond Matteo Ricci. Perspectives for the Inculturation of the Liturgical Space in China”. Actas de Arquitectura Religiosa Contemporánea, 2021, vol. 8, pp. 100-118. Web.
Morar, Florin-Stefan. “The Westerner: Matteo Ricci’s World Map and The Quandaries of European Identity in The Late Ming Dynasty.” Journal of Jesuit Studies, vol. 6, no. 1, 2019, pp. 14-30. Web.
Mignini, Filippo. New Perspectives in the Studies on Matteo Ricci. Quodlibet, 2019.
Vishnevskaya, Elena. “The Early Modern Jesuit Mission to China: A Marriage of Faith and Culture”. Education About Asia: Online Archives, vol. 25, no. 1, 2020, pp. 38-42. Web.
Yin, Peng. “Matteo Ricci’s Legacy for Comparative Theology”. Modern Theology, 2021, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 548-567. Web.