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How did Matteo Ricci and other Jesuits introduce Catholicism to the Chinese? |
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See answer below. |
The Society of Jesus, founded in 1534 by San Ignacio de Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, and others, aimed at internally revolutionise the Roman Catholic Church in response to the Reformation in the 16th century. The Roman Catholic Church recognised the Society of Jesus as a Catholic order in 1540. The Society expanded throughout Europe and made its way to Asia that the Portuguese newly discovered. St. Francis Xavier travelled to India, China, Japan, and other Asian countries with the Portuguese fleets in 1541. After his death, the Jesuits continued to carry out missionary work in China, with Macao as their home base.
D. Belchior Carniero was sent by the Roman Catholic Church to Macao to manage the church. He arrived in Macao in 1568 and established the Santa Casa da Misericórdia (Holy House of Mercy) for charitable and relief work. Later, he also founded a hospital (St. Raphael Hospital) and a leprosy sanatorium. Apart from introducing charity to Macao, Carniero acted as a mediator between Portuguese and Spanish religious groups. In 1576, he became the Diocesan Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Macau, directing church affairs in Macao, China, and Japan until 1581 when he resigned. He passed away two years later.
Alessandro Valignano came to Macao in 1578 and oversaw the Jesuits’ missionary work in China and Japan. He established St. Paul’s College in 1594, the first western-style tertiary education institution in the Far East.
Macao was the centre of missionary work not only in China but also in Japan in the 16th century. After St. Francis Xavier’s visit to Japan in 1549, Catholicism quickly spread in the country. Japanese Daimyo (feudal lords) such as Ōmura Sumitada and Ōtomo Sōrin were converted and jointly sent the Tenshō embassy to Europe. Valignano planned to build St. Paul’s College to train Japanese friars in 1594. Many Japanese friars received training in Macao and continued missionary work in Japan as clergies after their return. However, many of them were martyred or found shelter back to Macao when Japan released several decrees banning Catholicism in 1587.
When Matteo Ricci and other Jesuits preached to the Chinese, they respected Chinese customs including the worship of heaven, ancestors, and Confucius, an attitude that was stipulated in the “Directives of Matteo Ricci”. However, these acts of worship were seen by the Roman Catholic Church as deviation from Catholic doctrines. To rectify this, the Church sent Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon to China to declare the prohibition of such practices. As a result, the Qing court and the Roman Catholic Church clashed, which was known as the “Chinese Rites Controversy”. Although missionaries at the Qing court kept their positions, the court ordered a ban on religious activities during the reigns of Emperors Yongzheng (雍正) and Qianlong (乾隆). In 1747, a monastery in Macao (Seminário do Santo Amparo) was closed down for having preached to the Chinese.
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How did Matteo Ricci and other Jesuits introduce Catholicism to the Chinese? |
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After Alessandro Valignano arrived in Macao in 1578, he requested missionaries to learn the Chinese language and culture so that they could illuminate Catholicism in Chinese. When Matteo Ricci and Michele Ruggieri started missionary work in Guangdong (廣東) in 1583, they called themselves monks. However, after realising monks’ relatively low social status in the Ming dynasty, they approached officials and intellects as Confusian scholars and intrigued them with western science and technology. In 1600, the emperor granted the Jesuits, including Ricci, long-term residence in Beijing and permission for missionary work. A number of officials, such as Xu Guangqi (徐光啟), Li Zhizao (李之藻), and Yang Tingyun (楊廷筠) were early Catholic converts. |
