Joshua Bennett
Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary who introduced Christian teachings to the Chinese empire in the 16th century. He was one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions and created the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu, a 1602 map of the world written in Chinese characters. Ricci's spirituality and personality were deeply influenced by the humanist current sweeping Europe at the time. He believed that the best way to evangelize the Chinese was to connect with them through the existing truths inherent in their ancient classical tradition. Ricci wrote several books in Chinese, including 'On Friendship' and 'The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven', which argues that Confucianism and Christianity are not opposed but remarkably similar in key respects. However, his views on Confucianism and Chinese rituals, often called the Directives of Matteo Ricci, were controversial and led to the Chinese Rites Controversy, a dispute among Catholic missionaries over the religiosity of Confucianism and Chinese rituals during the 17th and 18th centuries. While the Jesuits argued that these rituals were secular and compatible with Christianity, other Catholic orders disagreed, and Rome's ban on traditional Chinese rituals ended the chances of developing an acculturated form of Catholicism.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 October 1552 |
| Place of birth | Macerata, Papal States (Italy) |
| Death date | 11 May 1610 |
| Place of death | Beijing, China |
| Occupation | Italian Jesuit priest and missionary |
| Known for | Introducing Christian teaching to the Chinese empire in the 16th century; writing several books in Chinese |
| Catholic Church's stance on Matteo Ricci's work | The Vatican banned traditional Chinese rituals, ending the chances of developing an acculturated form of Catholicism. |
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What You'll Learn
Matteo Ricci's views on Confucianism
Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He arrived in Macau in 1582 and began his missionary work in China. He mastered the Chinese language and writing system, and became the first European to enter the Forbidden City of Beijing in 1601.
Ricci emphasised the parallels between Catholicism and Confucianism. He wrote a book, 'The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven', which argued that Confucianism and Christianity are not opposed but are, in fact, remarkably similar in key respects. It was written in the form of a dialogue, originally in Chinese, and was used in his missionary effort to convert Chinese literati—men who were educated in Confucianism and the Chinese classics. Ricci also worked with several Chinese elites, such as Xu Guangqi, to translate Confucian classics into Latin for the first time in history.
In his writings, Ricci noted that the Chinese recognised no divinity in Confucius or their deceased ancestors. They prayed to neither and made no requests nor expected any extraordinary intervention from them. He wrote that the Chinese only did for their deceased ancestors what they did for the living to whom they wished to show great respect. He also noted that the Chinese did not worship Confucius but only thanked him for the excellent doctrine he left them in his books, through which they obtained their degrees and mandarinships.
Ricci's views on Confucianism and his approach to missionary work, however, were not without controversy. In the Chinese Rites Controversy, some Roman Catholic missionaries questioned whether Ricci and other Jesuits had gone too far and changed Christian beliefs to win converts. The popes declared, after investigations, that the ceremonies in honour of Confucius or ancestors and deceased relatives were tainted with superstition to such a degree that they could not be purified. Despite this, Matteo Ricci remains respected for his zealous intrepidity, the intelligence of the methods applied to each situation, and the tenacity with which he pursued his projects.
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The Chinese Rites controversy
The Jesuits' opponents, the Dominicans and Franciscans, argued that Chinese religious practice was corrupted by superstition and incompatible with Christian belief. They rejected the Jesuits' accommodation of Chinese rites and names for the Christian God and reported the issue to Rome. Rome's Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith initially sided with the Dominicans in 1645, condemning the Chinese rites. However, in 1656, the same congregation sided with the Jesuits, lifting the ban. The controversy embroiled many European universities, eight popes, the Kangxi Emperor, and the Holy See. By the end of the 17th century, many Dominicans and Franciscans had come to share the Jesuits' opinion, but Rome disagreed. Clement XI banned the rites in 1704, and Benedict XIV reaffirmed the prohibition in 1742, forbidding further debate.
The controversy continued to hamper Church efforts to gain converts in China. In 1939, after two centuries, the Holy See reassessed the issue and authorised Chinese Catholics to observe the ancestral rites and participate in Confucius-honoring ceremonies. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) proclaimed the principle of admitting native traditions and ceremonies into the liturgy of the church whenever possible.
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Catholic missionaries expelled from China
Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He arrived in Macau in 1582 and began his missionary work in China, mastering the Chinese language and writing system. Ricci emphasised the parallels between Catholicism and Confucianism, and wrote a book, 'The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven', arguing that the two belief systems were not opposed but in fact similar in key respects.
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Rites Controversy developed, centring on the reluctance of the Catholic Church to recognise local Confucian customs of honouring deceased family members. This resulted in the expulsion of missionaries from most of China, and the banning of Christianity. The Yongzheng Emperor expelled all missionaries who failed to support Ricci's position on accommodation, and in 1724, an imperial edict was issued, proscribing Catholicism as "non-canonical".
The Jesuits' "top-down" strategy of converting elite members of society had resulted in the conversion of a handful of high-level government officials. However, by the end of Emperor Kang-xi's reign, China was frustrated by the increasingly rigid policies from Rome. The Qing subjects were forbidden from practising Christianity, and missionaries, except science experts who served in the royal court, were deported to the Portuguese colony of Macau.
After the First Opium War (1839-1841), China was required to permit foreign missionaries, and Catholic missionaries returned a few decades later. However, they encountered significant opposition from local elites, who were committed to Confucianism and resented Western ethical systems. During the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), Catholic missionaries and their families were murdered by Boxer rebels.
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The banning of traditional Chinese rituals
Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He arrived at the Portuguese settlement of Macau in 1582 and began his missionary work in China. Ricci mastered the Chinese language and writing system, and adopted the local culture, which helped him gain entrance to the interior of China, which was normally closed to foreigners.
Ricci's missionary work was marked by controversy. He emphasised parallels between Catholicism and Confucianism, and his views on the latter's rituals, often called the "Directives of Matteo Ricci", were followed by Jesuit missionaries in China and Korea. Ricci believed that the best way to evangelise the Chinese was to connect with them through the existing truths inherent in their ancient classical tradition. He argued that Chinese rituals were secular and civic in nature, and not religious, and therefore not incompatible with Catholicism. He allowed new Christians to continue the practice of these rituals, as long as they avoided anything that suggested superstition.
However, other Catholic orders disagreed with Ricci's methods. The Dominicans and Franciscans reported the issue to Rome, and in 1645, Rome's Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith sided with the Dominicans, condemning the Chinese rites as religious and incompatible with Catholic belief. This stance was enforced by Pope Clement XI in 1704, who outlawed any further discussion on the matter. In 1706, the Papal Legate Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon angered the Kangxi Emperor by communicating the interdiction of Chinese rites, resulting in an order that all missionaries would have to declare that they would follow the rules of Matteo Ricci. In 1721, the Kangxi Emperor banned Christian missions in China, stating that Western religion was no different from other small, bigoted sects of Buddhism or Taoism.
The ban on traditional Chinese rituals effectively ended the chances of developing a more acculturated form of Catholicism. It was not until 1939 that Pope Pius XII finally revoked the former prohibitions, issuing a decree authorising Chinese Catholics to observe the ancestral rites and participate in Confucius-honouring ceremonies.
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The legacy of Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He is known for his missionary work in China, where he emphasised the parallels between Catholicism and Confucianism. Ricci was also a scholar who published several books, including The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven, in which he argued that Confucianism and Christianity are not opposed but are similar in many respects.
Ricci's legacy is that of a pioneer who built a bridge between East and West. He was the first European to enter the Forbidden City of Beijing in 1601, where he worked in court astronomy and calendrical science. He also created the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu, a 1602 map of the world written in Chinese characters. His work in China is considered one of the most fascinating episodes in mission history, and he has been described as a "prophetic figure" by Pope Francis.
Ricci's efforts to accommodate Confucianism in propagating Christianity in China have been both admired and criticised. He was convinced that certain Chinese rites had no religious significance and allowed new Christians to continue practising them, avoiding anything that suggested superstition. However, some Roman Catholic missionaries questioned whether Ricci and other Jesuits had gone too far and changed Christian beliefs to win converts. This dispute developed into the Chinese Rites Controversy.
Despite this controversy, Ricci remains a well-respected figure. He has been described as a "splendid type of missionary and founder, unsurpassed for his zealous intrepidity, the intelligence of the methods applied to each situation, and the unwearying tenacity with which he pursued his projects." His beatification process began in 1984, and in 2022, Pope Francis declared that Ricci had lived a life of heroic virtue, bestowing upon him the title of Venerable.
Several places and institutions are named after Matteo Ricci, including the Matteo Ricci Pacific Studies Reading Room at the National Central Library of Taiwan, Ricci Hall at the University of Hong Kong, and the Centro Matteo Ricci in Rome, a centre for refugees and asylum seekers.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Catholics never banned Matteo Ricci's books. In fact, he wrote several books in Chinese, including 'On Friendship', 'The Secure Treatise on God', 'The Twenty-Five Words', 'The First Six Books of Euclid', and 'The Ten Paradoxes'.
Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary who introduced Christian teachings to the Chinese empire in the 16th century. He was one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions.
The Chinese Rites Controversy was a dispute among Catholic missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries over the religiosity of Confucianism and Chinese rituals. The debate centred around whether Chinese ritual practices of ancestor veneration and other formal rites were religious and thus incompatible with Catholic beliefs.
The Chinese Rites Controversy led to the expulsion of Catholic missionaries from China in the 18th century. In 1704, Pope Clement XI condemned the Chinese rites and Confucian rituals, outlawing any further discussion. In 1721, the Kangxi Emperor banned Christian missions in China.
