The Study on the Impact of Mattoe Ricci’s Preach on China

【Abstract】： Matteo Ricci is one of the Catholic missionary pioneers in China and he is also the western scholar who is the first person to read and study Chinese literature. He has a hand in spreading the knowledge of western astronomy， mathematics， geography， science and technology. What he has done has a great impact on China， and now to some extent， Matteo Ricci's preach and his works are deeply influenced Chinese people's daily life which reflects the great progress of modernization in China.

【Key words】：Matteo Ricci， preach， impact

1. Introduction

Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He arranged a set of Catholic theology and etiquette terms in Chinese. There were four missionary bases he built in China. Matteo Ricci made great contribution to the area of culture blending， for he circulated science and technology knowledge such as western astronomy， mathematics， geography etc. His 1602 map of the world in Chinese characters introduced the findings of European exploration to East Asia. His efforts， in some way， got China to get touch with the western civilization at that time.

2. The Preach Activities

In 1571， Matteo entered the Society of Jesus in April at the Roman College. While there in addition to philosophy and theology， he also studied mathematics， cosmology， and astronomy under the direction of Father Christopher Clavius.

In 1577， he applied for a missionary expedition to the Far East. He arrived in Goa， a Portuguese Colony， the following September. Ricci remained there employed in teaching and the ministry until the end of Lent， 1582， when he was summoned to Macau to prepare to enter China.

Expelled from Zhaoqing in 1589， Ricci obtained permission to relocate to Shaoguan in the north of the province， and reestablish his mission there.[]

In August 1597， Alessandro Valignano （1539–1606）， his superior， appointed him Major Superior of the mission in China， with the rank and powers of a Provincial， a charge that he fulfilled until his death.

In 1601， He established the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing， the oldest Catholic church in the city.

Once established in Beijing， Ricci was able to meet important officials and leading members of the Beijing cultural scene， and convert a number of them to Christianity.

In 1608， he sent a junior missionary to Kaifeng， Henan Province， the first of many such missions. In contrast to the cultures of South Asia， Ricci found Chinese culture was strongly intertwined with Confucian values and therefore decided to use existing Chinese concepts to explain Christianity， which contributes to different opinions among different people in later ages.

3. The Academic Contribution to China

3.1. The Content

In the area of astronomy， there are nine Ptolemaic spheres Ricci introduced as the four elements， the spherical shape of the earth， the greater size of the sun versus the earth， and the greater size of the earth versus the moon. In addition， he also built many kinds of astronomical instruments.

In the area of mathematics， the most influential mathematical knowledge brought in by Ricci was contained in his translations of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry and Father Clavius’ Arithmetic， which started the flow of Western mathematics into China. The works on Western mathematics Ricci and other Jesults imported proclaimed the end of the era of “native mathematics”.[]

As for the language， Ricci and Ruggieri compiled a Portuguese-Chinese dictionary， the first in any European language， for which they developed a system for transcribing Chinese words in the Latin alphabet.

Also， Ricci composed the first European-style map of the world in Chinese， now called the \"Impossible Black Tulip\" after its rarity. What’s more， Ricci is the first who brought the western oil painting and its principles to China with his Western religious portraits as well. There used to be three paintings Ricci presented to the emperor ， which includes one of Jesus’ mother， Mary.

3.2. The Comment

For a long time， most westerners especially those Catholic regard Matteo Ricci as a respectful， heathen-induction missionary. The easterners， however， treat him as a scientist who contributes to the communication between the east and the west.

Although there are few disciples Matteo Ricci and his colleagues gain， but his efforts are considered to provide the basis for the punch of the Christian in later days. Because he circulates the doctrines through the Confucian scholars， which has made it easier for Chinese people to accept the less controversial parts in Christian.

Pope John Paul II comments in The Speech on the International Academic Seminar of Ricci to Beijing for Four Hundred Years like this： The greatest contribution Matteo Ricci has made is to the area of culture blending. He arranges a set of Catholic theology and etiquette terms in Chinese to make it possible for Chinese to learn about Jesus Christ， and let the good news and the church to be born in Chinese culture. Until nowadays， it is the figure of Matteo Ricci and his works that reflects in Chinese people’s real life symbolizing the pace of modernization in China.

4. The Influence of Matteo Ricci’s activities in China

In the early years after Matteo Ricci arrived in China， he built several missionary stations in China and began to be one of the earliest pioneers of the Catholic missionary in China. In the meanwhile， Ricci became the first western scholar to study the Chinese ancient books and records. He circulated the doctrine of Catholic through his status as a western clergy and by means of Chinese characters. Ricci made friends with Chinese officials and noted public figures. He spread the knowledge including western astronomy， mathematics， geography and science technology， and it’s no doubt that his works made great contribution to the communication between the western and China， which also influences the realization of Japan and the Korean Peninsula countries to the western civilizations.

Works Cited：

[1]Gallagher，The China That Was，America，The Bruce Publishing Company ，1942，P205-227

[2]Lin Jinshui，Matteo Ricci’s Activities and Influence in China，The Research into History，1983， 01