Matteo Ricci : a Jesuit in the Ming Court
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Matteo Ricci : a Jesuit in the Ming Court
Rowman & Littlefield, 2015, c2011
1st pbk. ed
- : pbk
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Matteo Ricci
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Note
Originally published in Italian: Milano : Mondadori, c2005
Includes bibliographical references (p. 307) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), the first of the early Jesuit missionaries of the China mission, is widely considered the most outstanding cultural mediator of all time between China and the West. This engrossing and fluid book offers a thorough, knowledgeable biography of this fascinating and influential man, telling a deeply human and captivating story that still resonates today.
Michela Fontana traces Ricci's travels in China in detail, providing a rich portrait of Ming China and the growing importance of cultural exchanges between China and the West. She shows how Ricci incorporated his ideas of "cultural accommodation" into both his life and his writings aimed at the Chinese elite. Her biography is the first to highlight Ricci's immensely important scientific work and that of key Christian converts, such as Xu Guangqi, who translated Euclid's Elements together with Ricci. Exploring the history of science in China and the West as well as their dramatically different cultural attitudes toward religious and philosophical issues, Michela Fontana introduces not only Ricci's life but the first significant encounter between Western and Chinese civilizations.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1: The Jesuit and Mathematics
Chapter 2: In the East
Chapter 3: The Difficulty of Learning Chinese
Chapter 4: The Man from the West
Chapter 5: The Pride of Li Madou
Chapter 6: The Meeting of Confucius and Euclid
Chapter 7: Metamorphosis into Mandarins
Chapter 8: The Strength of Friendship
Chapter 9: To Beijing!
Chapter 10: Heated Disputes and Science Lessons
Chapter 11: Prisoner of the Eunuch
Chapter 12: In the Heart of the Empire
Chapter 13: The Empty Throne
Chapter 14: The Lord of Heaven
Chapter 15: Doctor Paul
Chapter 16: Euclid Becomes Chinese
Chapter 17: The Open Door
Chapter 18: After Matteo Ricci: The Scientific Legacy, Triumph, and Persecution
Chronology
Chinese Dynasties
Glossary
Bibliography
by "Nielsen BookData"
