MACAU (UCAN) – The Macau Ricci Institute has marked the anniversary of the death of famous Jesuit priest Father Matteo Ricci, a Sinologist who promoted Christianity in China while introducing the country’s culture to the West.

Next year will be the 400th anniversary of the death of the priest who lived the final 27 years of his life in China.
The Jesuit-run Macau Ricci Institute held a forum on May 11, the day Father Ricci died in Beijing in 1610.

The forum looked at the priest’s remarkable career in the country from the time he arrived in Macau, covering his travels through China to Beijing.

Father Gianni Criveller of the Pontifical Foreign Missions Institute (PIME) spoke on “Matteo Ricci’s Ascent to Beijing (1583-1610).”

Father Ricci, known as Li Madou to the Chinese, was a prolific writer, a Sinologist, linguist and an accomplished scientist.

Father Ricci, an Italian, began to learn the Chinese language on arrival in Macau, then a Portuguese colony and the gateway for foreigners entering China. After mastering the language, the priest set off for Beijing, arriving there in 1601.

Father Criveller, an Italian, told UCA News that he presented some lesser known aspects and misconceptions surrounding Father Ricci’s journey to Beijing. The priest made four lengthy stops between Macau and Beijing, at Zhaoqing and Shaoguan (then called Shaozhou) in Guangdong, Nanchang in Jiangxi and Nanjing in Jiangsu.
Father Criveller said the talk was a follow-up on his earlier forum speech last October, when he focused on Father Ricci’s life before coming to China. The two speeches will be published in a booklet in English and Chinese next year to commemorate the Jesuit’s 400th death anniversary.

Many people viewed Father Ricci’s life in China as a success.

“In fact, he had many setbacks and difficulties,” such as his discouragement upon seeing his companions die on the trip to Beijing, said Father Criveller.

Father Ricci was detained by officials when a crucifix was found among his gifts to the Chinese emperor. They believed it was a totem of black magic to have a figure nailed on a cross while the public depiction of a naked body was also unacceptable to the Chinese at the time.

Father Ricci is often remembered as a man of science, but he was much more than that, Father Criveller said.
Some of the Jesuit’s techniques for introducing Christianity to China were controversial at the time. He preached the message that God was one and the same with the Chinese deity, the “Lord of Heaven”.

However, Father Criveller said Father Ricci had “talked and written about Christ … on certain occasions when people were ready to learn about Christ.”

The May 11 evening forum, chaired by Jesuit Father Artur Wardega, director of the Macau Ricci Institute, was followed by a concert and a cocktail party for the participants to exchange views.

Father Criveller, based in Hong Kong, has been living in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and mainland China for 18 years. The PIME scholar researches, teaches and writes on the reception of Christianity in China.