The document provides details about the 400th anniversary commemoration of Matteo Ricci's death and the history of Christianity in Nanjing, China since Ricci first arrived in the 16th century. It summarizes Ricci's journey from Portugal to China, his missionary work establishing Catholic churches and translating religious texts, and his eventual death and burial in Beijing. It also describes the current state of Christianity in Nanjing, including around 250 churches, 100,000-150,000 believers, and 60-70 ministers.
2. • "The Master
from the West,"
an exhibit that
commemorated
the 400th
anniversary of
the Jesuit's
death, visited
Beijing, Shangh
ai, Nanjing and
Macao.
10. Stage 1 – Buddhist Monk Stage
Guangdong
• 1583-89 Zhaoqing
• Ricci produces 1st world
map in Chinese
• They translate the Ten
Commandments, the
Credo, and the prayers
of the Christian faith
• Ruggeri publishes 1st
catechism in Chinese
• 1588 Rugerri to Rome
• 1589-93 Shaozhou
• begins to translate
Confucius' Four Books
into Latin, and
composes a paraphrase
of it, also in Latin.
• His house was raided
by thieves; he jumps
out of a window to
seek help
11. • 1594,
• Begins to
wear the long
robe of the
literati, hire
servants and
secretaries, a
nd gets
around on a
sedan chair.
12. If at first you don’t succeed…
• 1594 – attempts to go to Beijing, but on
the way, the boat overturns; Ricci is
saved but a Chinese assistant is
drowned. He takes refuge in Nanjing but
is chased out of town, so he goes to
Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province
13. 1595-98 Nanchang
• He is well received
• Publishes his first book in Chinese, “On
Friendship”
• Impresses with his prodigious memory,
gives a presentation on his secret:
mnemonics
14. Mnemonics
• Greek for ‘memory’
• Mnemonics are
easy-to-remember
devices, acronyms,
phrases, or
whatever that help
you recall
information.
15. 1598 Tries again to go to Beijing
• He follows the Minister of Rites Wang
Zhongming to Beijing with a plan to
reform the Chinese calendar. After two
months in the northern capital, he is
forced to go back to where he came
from because foreigners are eyed with
suspicion there.
16. 1599-1600 Nanjing
• On January 6 he settles in Nanjing and
establishes a fourth Jesuit house.
• Even though only 15 months in
Nanjing, they are more fruitful than all
previous; his reputation continued to
grow and his influential friends
increased
17. 1600 Never give up
• In May he again leaves for Beijing; this
time his plan is to bring gifts to Emperor
Wanli. But while navigating down the
imperial canal he is arrested by Ma
Tang, a powerful eunuch, who shuts him
up in the fortress of Tianjin and keeps
him there until January of 1601.
18. 1601 Beijing at last
• On January 24, Ricci enters Beijing. He
has with him numerous significant gifts
from the West for Emperor Wanli,
whom he will never actually meet, but
by whom he will be supported through
the state budget until his death
19. 1601 - 1610
• Publishes the treatise The True Meaning of
the Lord of Heaven, the Doctrine of the Lord
of Heaven and Twenty-five Sayings
• Continues to improve the world map
• With Chinese Christians, translates scientific
and mathematic treatises
• Writes the first systematic description of
China and the history of the Jesuit mission in
China from 1579
20. May 11, 1610 Ricci dies
• On May 11, Ricci dies in Beijing after a
short illness. For the first time in the
history of China the emperor allots a
piece of land for the burial of a
foreigner.
• Matteo Ricci's tomb lies within what is
now Beijing Administrative College
33. • Chinese emperors
did not accept that
anyone outside of
China could have
authority over
Chinese citizens, so
when the Pope
decreed the rites
were unacceptable,
Christianity was
banned
34. Spence, on Ricci and the Map
• “I’m an unabashed
Ricci admirer,” Spence
told the audience in
the Coolidge
Auditorium on April 13.
He said Ricci is “one of
the most impressive
persons anyone can
encounter.”
35. World map, a 20-year project
• “Ricci was six things
at once,” said
Spence. “He was a
scholar, an observer,
a linguist, a scientist,
a writer and a man
of God. All six are
present in the map
in different ways.”
36. The 1602 map, that measures 5.5 feet tall by 12.5 feet wide,
drawn by Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci (1552-1610)
41. • After twenty-five years of work he had
translated the whole Bible into Chinese
and baptized ten Chinese believers. He
pioneered translation of the Bible and
wanted to distribute the Scriptures as
widely as possible.
42. • 1807 – Morrison, firstProtestant
missionary
• 1842 – Treaty of Nanking opened five
treaty ports to foreigners: Guangzhou,
Amoy (Xiamen), Fuzhou, Ningbo, and
Shanghai
• From 1860 – Further action forced open
other treaty ports and the interior of
China to trade and evangelization
43. Christianity in Nanjing in 2012
• Nanjing is the capital city of Jiangsu
Province, and its largest city. The
urban area has a population of 5.25
million persons, and more than 8
million, counting rural residents.