Matteo Ricci in China

(Statue of Matteo Ricci in Beijing)

In response to the Reformation movement during the early sixteenth century, the Catholic Church embarked on an ambitious Counter-Reformation movement as part of its spiritual renewal. Exuberant art and architecture projects were commissioned, education was reformed, missionary activity increased, and new religious orders were founded. One of the most significant of the new religious orders was St. Ignatius' Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, which was formally established by Pope Paul III in 1540.1 The Jesuit order was notable for their active missionary work in Asia. The attitudes of accommodation among Jesuit missionaries granted them access to areas which were otherwise hostile to foreigners; such as the case of Matteo Ricci in China. However, the controversies stirred by the Dominican and Franciscan orders over the accommodations contributed to the official suppression of the Jesuit order between 1773 and 1814.2 The Church views Ricci's accommodations more positively in retrospect, however.

During his formative years in the 1560's and 1570's, Matteo Ricci studied theology, literature, philosophy, and law.3 Ricci further developed his talents for linguistics, cartography, and astronomy; skills which assisted him in his future missionary endeavors. The Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano took Ricci under his tutelage, where he learned to missionize in a way which respects native cultures. In order to best prepare for missionizing in China according to Valignano's ideals of cultural respect, Ricci studied the Chinese language in earnest.4 Ricci's scientific aptitude and fluency in Chinese won the favor of the scholar-official Wang P'an, who permitted Ricci and fellow Jesuit Michele Ruggieri to settle in Chao-ch'ing in 1583.

Shortly after arriving in China, Ricci realized any influence in the political or social spheres were wielded by scholar-officials appointed based on passing competitive exams on Confucianism.5 This meant that securing any sort of protection or legitimacy for the Jesuits' Chinese mission required being accepted by the Confucian literati. Ricci adopted the garb of the literati in order to mimic their appearance; carefully studied the classical Confucian texts in order to impress them in intellectual exchanges; and even translated the texts into Latin.6 The Confucian literati gradually accepted Ricci as a respectable scholar due to his knowledge of Chinese, Confucianism, and Western sciences.7

Ricci slowly introduced Catholicism to the Confucian literati through writing his catechism The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven.8 The arguments in the catechism were meant to show that certain aspects of Christian doctrine better coincided with classical Confucianism than Neo-Confucianism. Ricci compared Confucian ethics with Catholicism's natural law; and argued that the ancient Chinese correctly discovered what we call “God,” and worshiped him as a being known as “Shangdi.”9 Moreover, Ricci filled gaps in Confucianism with Christian teachings, such as how suffering relates to the afterlife and justice.

The strength of Ricci's arguments led to the conversion of the “Three Pillars of the Chinese church”; Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, and Yang Tingyun.10 They contributed to the Jesuits' evangelical cause through their socially respected statuses; and through actively writing, publishing, and financing, missionary literature. As a result of Ricci's earnest cultural sensitivities, and the contributions of the Three Pillars, the Jesuit mission became a minor, albeit significant, part of Chinese culture.11

The intimate familiarity Ricci's mission had regarding Confucianism led them to conclude that some of the Confucian rites, such as ancestral veneration, were non-religious memorial practices, and therefore permissible.12 The Jesuits' accommodations for the Confucian rites led to a significant controversy during the two centuries following Ricci's passing in 1610. Dominican and Franciscan missionaries who came to China staunchly opposed any accommodations, and viewed these rites as idolatrous.13 The rites controversy eventually reached Rome, and the Pope officially condemned Confucian rites in 1715.14 The Manchurian monarch was enraged by the papal declaration, which severely damaged missionary activity in China, and increased anti-Christian persecution. The relationship between the Church and China considerably worsened in 1742 when papal constitution required missionaries to take an oath to not allow practicing Confucian rites altogether.15

The Church's stance on Ricci and his accommodating practices changed in his favor during recent years. The oath against the Confucian rites was abrogated in 1939.16 Pope St. John Paul II praised Ricci's empathy, scholarship, and holds him up as an example of building relationships.17 Pope Benedict XVI saw Ricci as an example of the necessity for being farsighted in missionary activity.18 Pope Francis laments that the rites controversy occurred, and urges that such a mistake should never be repeated.19 Even more notable is that Ricci is currently in the process of beatification; the first stage of which was completed in 2013.20

The legacy of Matteo Ricci exemplifies the persevering impacts of empathy, cultural understanding, and scholarship. His methods were met with hostility among other orders, and even by popes. However, Ricci managed to gain the acceptance of a previously impenetrable culture and evangelize. Even today, Ricci remains a beloved figure in China. Despite the controversy over the Jesuits' accommodations, Ricci is now looked on as a positive model for the Church.


1. John Vidmar, OP. The Catholic Church Through the Ages 2nd ed. (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2014), chapter 5, St. Ignatius Loyola and the Society of Jesus. eBook edition.

2. Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages, chapter 6, Ultramontanism.

3. Nora C. Buckley, “Matteo Ricci in China, 1583-1610,” History Today 27, no.9, (1977), 573.

4. Buckley, “Matteo Ricci in China,” 575.

5. Liu Yu, "The Intricacies of Accommodation: The Proselytizing Strategy of Matteo Ricci," Journal Of World History 19, no. 4, (2008). 467-468.

6. Thierry Meynard, "The Overlooked Connection between Ricci’s Tianzhu shiyi and Valignano’s Catechismus Japonensis" Japanese Journal Of Religious Studies 40, no. 2 (2013), 312.

7. Yu, "The Intricacies of Accommodation,” 468.

8. Meynard, "Ricci's Tianzhu shiyi," 313, 315.

9. Meynard, "Ricci's Tianzhu shiyi," 316, 318.

10. Yu, "The Intricacies of Accommodation,” 477.

11. Yu, "The Intricacies of Accommodation,” 478.

12. Joan-Pau Rubies, "Missionary Encounters in China and Tibet: From Matteo Ricci to Ippolito Desideri," History of Religions, 53, no.3 (2013), 281.

13. Charles Boxer, "Jesuits at the court of Peking," History Today 41, no. 5, (1991), 44

14. Boxer, "Jesuits at the court of Peking," 45.

15. Boxer, "Jesuits at the court of Peking," 46.

16. Boxer, "Jesuits at the court of Peking," 46.

17. John Paul II. Message to the International Conference commemorating the Fourth Centenary of the arrival in Beijing of Father Matteo Ricci. (24 October, 2001), §2, 5.

18. Benedict XVI. To participants in a pilgrimage promoted by the Italian Dioceses of the Marche region on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of Father Matteo Ricci. (29 May, 2010).

19. “Matteo Ricci one step closer to sainthood,” at Vatican Insider News, (01 November 2014), at http://www.lastampa.it/.

20.  Benoit Vermander, “Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi, two saints the Chinese Church deserves to venerate together,” at Asia News, (26 March 2014), at www.asianews.it.

Bibliography:

Benedict XVI. To participants in a pilgrimage promoted by the Italian Dioceses of the Marche region on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of Father Matteo Ricci. (29 May, 2010).

Boxer, Charles, "Jesuits at the court of Peking," History Today 41, no. 5, (1991): 41-47.

Buckley, Nora C. “Matteo Ricci in China, 1583-1610,” History Today 27, no.9, (1977): 573-584.

John Paul II. Commemorating the Fourth Century of the Arrival in Beijing of Father Matteo Ricci. (24 October, 2001).

 “Matteo Ricci one step closer to sainthood,” at Vatican Insider News, 01 November 2014, at www.lastampa.it.

Meynard, Thierry. "The Overlooked Connection between Ricci’s Tianzhu shiyi and Valignano’s Catechismus Japonensis" Japanese Journal Of Religious Studies 40, no. 2 (2013): 303-    322.

Rubies, Joan-Pau. "Missionary Encounters in China and Tibet: From Matteo Ricci to Ippolito Desideri," History of Religions 53, no.3 (2013): 267-282.

Vermander, Benoit. “Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi, two saints the Chinese Church deserves to venerate together,” at Asia News, 26 March 2014, at www.asianews.it.

Vidmar, John. OP. The Catholic Church Through the Ages 2nd ed. Mahwah: Paulist Press, 2014. eBook edition.

Yu, Liu. "The Intricacies of Accommodation: The Proselytizing Strategy of Matteo Ricci." Journal Of World History 19, no. 4 (2008): 465-487.

Image:
"The Statue of Matteo Ricci." 2017. at www.chinatravelpage.com.