The jet-setting jesuit

The bookish order of Catholic priests known as Jesuits do get out more than the average men of the cloth—but Renaissance-era priest Matteo Ricci was in a class of his own. When the Italian missionary sallied into Ming Dynasty China， it was a land and culture almost unknown to Westerners， which meant Ricci had to start from scratch. But like an ancient precursor to Indiana Jones， Ricci was a man for whom both brains and guts served to unlock the realm’s hidden treasures.

Missionaries are by definition an adventurous lot， but in the 16th century， Matteo Ricci set the bar for pioneering evangelists. When the 30-year-old Ricci set out for China in 1582， he was only the second Jesuit to attempt missionary work in the Middle Kingdom—and the first to survive doing it. Thirty years before， attempt number one had been launched by St. Francis Xavier of Spain， who died after a year on the island of Shangchuan， without ever having reached the mainland.

But Ricci was no stranger to foreign lands; he had spent the previous four years in the Portuguese colony of Goa before arriving in Macau to begin learning Chinese language and culture. This endeavor， in and of itself， set Ricci apart from his predecessors: before him， only one Christian missionary， by the name of Ruggiero， had ever attempted to learn Chinese. The same Ruggiero would serve as Ricci’s guide as he penetrated the Chinese mainland， which then remained a largely unexplored frontier among Westerners.

Part of the reason for this was that in the 16th century， China was just beginning to open up to international influences again， thanks in large part to the 14th century tributary missions of Zheng He， who helped establish diplomatic relations with states throughout Southeast Asia and Africa. Western influence， however， remained scarce， especially in the holiest of holies: the recently constructed Forbidden City， which stood as an imposing symbol of Ming opulence and power.

But Ricci was not to be intimidated. In contrast to the large majority of missionary work of the time， which was predicated on the notion of Western superiority， Ricci’s approach took Chinese culture and civilization as its basis. He immersed himself， and within a few years had won over local officials， establishing himself as an indispensable intellectual resource.

In 1584， a mere two years after reaching China， Ricci was commissioned by the viceroy of Zhaoqing to create China’s first European-style map of the world， known today as “A Map of the Myriad Countries of the World.”The map was critical to expanding Chinese knowledge of the wider world. Around the same time， Ricci compiled a PortugueseChinese dictionary， the first Chinese dictionary in any European language. This served as a basis for transcribing Chinese words in the Latin alphabet.

Ricci also provided a window into European civilization and a valuable means of gaining access to European technological advancements. In 1601， his efforts paid off when thanks to these and other scientific contributions， he was invited by Emperor Wanli to the Imperial Court. This was a major milestone—Ricci was the first Westerner ever to be invited into the Forbidden City， and became the first Western advisor to the Imperial Court. And as Ricci’s biographer Ronnie Hsia notes， it was all off his own back:“By his intelligence， charm and endurance， the Italian missionary gained access to the inner realm of Chinese civilization， denied to almost all visitors.”

But Ricci hadn’t forgotten his original mission. After being established at his new post in Beijing， he began using his access to the higher echelons of Chinese government and society to spread Christianity from the top down. Familiar with the culture’s strong affinity with Confucianism， Ricci decided to use existing Chinese concepts to explain Christianity， and became the first scholar to translate the Confucian classics into a Western language， Latin.

Though some members of the church ultimately balked at what they viewed as Ricci’s excessive cultural appeasement， there was no doubting his influence. By the time he died in Beijing in 1610， Ricci had established himself as a respected member of Chinese society. While Ming Dynasty code normally required the remains of foreigners to be buried in Macau， Emperor Wanli granted special permission for Ricci to be buried in Beijing.

1605 xu xIaKe (徐霞客)

Xu Xiake spends 30 years walking through rural China， compiling a 640，000-character account of his travels. The greatest geographer of the Ming Dynasty， he provided the first systematic account of much of China’s topography.

1655 martIno martInI

Operating out of a church in Hangzhou， Jesuit missionary Martino Martini produces “Novus Atlas Sinensis，” the most complete western atlas of China， based on his own travels and the work of other Jesuits.

1681 Shen Fuzong (沈福宗)

This Qing-era government official travels to Europe after converting to Catholicism. Possibly the first literate Chinese to visit Europe， he provides sinologists with invaluable documents and even meets with King Louis XIV.

1731 Samuel Van de putte

After traveling overland through Persia and India to reach Tibet， Dutch explorer Samuel van de Putte spends six years in Lhasa mastering the Tibetan language before beginning a four-year trek to Beijing.

1868 FerdInand FreIherr Von rIchthoFen

Freiherr of Germany begins extensive travels throughout central China， producing an exquisitely detailed atlas that serves as the standard reference work for many future explorers.