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Focus: The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Father Matteo Ricci. This remarkable Jesuit not only signifies the spread of the Catholic Church to China but also in his partnership with Xu Guangqi, introduced and shared European astronomy and maths and science, further enriching Chinese society and its education system.
In this Focus, we will not only be looking in greater detail at the achievements and legacy of the great man, how he changed the world and how his spirit of this pioneer in dialogue lives on; but also we will show how our umbrella organisation, the Taipei Ricci Institute is renewing Ricci's legacy, that of his encounter with Xu Guangqi and indeed our own Institutes mission and relevance today. Thus we announce the opening of the Matteo Ricci - Pacific Studies Room in the National Central Library, Taiwan; the Xu-Ricci Dialogue Institute at Fudan University in Shanghai, and the release of an electronic version of the Grand Ricci - which was the very first and most complete dictionary between Chinese and any European language.
Focus: The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
On April 16th in Taipei the National Central Library of Taiwan and Taipei Ricci Institute inaugurated the new "Matteo Ricci Pacific Studies Reading Room" to commemorate Ricci's contribution to East-West cultural exchange. The vibrant ceremony is shown in the video above, and it was followed by Professor Nicolas Standaert's symposium: "Sino-European Displacements: The Circulation of Prints between Europe and China". Professor Standaert is one of the world’s foremost experts on cultural exchanges between Europe and China during the Late Ming and Early Qing dynasties.Named after the famous Jesuit missionary, Matteo Ricci, over the last 50 years the Ricci Institute has been devoted to research in fields such as international Chinese...
Focus: The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
Part 1│Part 2│Part 3This three part documentary was recorded over 20 years ago by the Kuangchi Program Service, but takes us back 400 years with re-enactments of conversations that would have actually happened between the Jesuit Matteo Ricci and his friend Xu Guangqi. A challenge that all western students of Chinese can relate to, Ricci shows us what it was to struggle through the strokes of a Chinese character before the days of the The Grand Ricci, let alone the brand new digital version. Fittingly Ricci is played by Jesuit Jerry Martinson.To purchase the full version of the DVD Matteo Ricci in Chinese contact Paul Su or come and visit the Kuangchi Offices in Taipei. Also available are educational documentaries on Matteo...
Focus: The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
At one point, a few years ago, I was standing in the front yard of my mother’s house in Texas. She and I were talking, doing our usual different-schedules-same-house-4:00 PM update as she was coming home from and I was going to work. In my family, no one can stay on topic in any conversation and what started as a mundane discussion of odd jobs, bills, and babysitting jobs quickly morphed into me intellectually puttering around, trying to describe to my mother the mental process I use to accomplish goals or resolve conflicts into which I have backed myself.I adopted the process from the only person in the world I can honestly say I viscerally hate – my ex-mother in law. (I would not slow down a car if I were driving and she was...
Focus: The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
To mark 400 years of dialogue and cultural exchange set off by Matteo Ricci, on May 11th 2010 Michel Camdessus opened the Inauguration International Forum on the "Dialogue among Civilizations and Global Challenges" held by the new Xu-Ricci Dialogue Research Center at Fudan University Shanghai. He explains to us why he is so delighted that the new institute has been jointly named after Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi and how they are still relevant today.I rejoice in the fact that the new Centre organising our forum has been placed under the twin names of Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci. Through this patronage, its founders are inscribing their academic endeavour into the domain of humane friendship – and more specifically of intercultural...
Focus: The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the passing of Matteo Ricci, Gjon Kolndrekaj was commissioned by the Society of Jesus and the Italian diocese of Macerata, the birthplace of Matteo Ricci's birthplace, to direct the documentary on the life of Matteo Ricci. In filming the documentary he would journey along Matteo Ricci's path, starting in Ricci's home town of Macerate. Taipei's own Ricci Institute also thought it fitting to invite the accomplished director to Taiwan's first screening of the 50-minute documentary at the National Central Library in Taiwan, before which he was interviewed by eRenlai. The on-site interpretation was provided generously by Antonella Tulli of Fu Jen Catholic University[inset side="left"...
Read more: Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit in the realm of the dragon
Focus: The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
On Friday 16 April 2010, Professor Nicolas Standaert S.J. presented to a full house at the National Central Library of Taiwan.
The audience assembled to hear Professor Standaert elucidate upon the circulation of religious prints between China and Europe in the seventeenth century. As part of the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Matteo Ricci’s death, this talk was an opportunity to learn about Ricci’s spirituality through the concept of displacement and the use of visual culture as a communication medium.
An elaborate world map formed the foundation of Professor Standaert’s presentation. In drawing this map, and other prints, Ricci and his collaborators created a space where the dialogue of...
Read more: Sino-European displacement: the circulation of prints between Europe and China
Focus: The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
Some say, that without a Xu Guangqi, there would be no Matteo Ricci. What follows is the script and video of part 2 of a DVD produced conjointly by Kuangchi Program Studios and Jiangsu TV. The present excerpt deals with an important episode in the spiritual history of China: the encounter between the Confucean Minister Xu Guangqi and the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci...To purchase the full version of the DVD 《Paul Xu Guangqi, China's man for all seasons》 contact Paul Su or visit the Kuangchi Program Service of Taipei. Also available are educational documentaries on Matteo Ricci, Fr. Adam Schall vo Bell and Fr. Francis Xavier.It is a clear morning in Macerata—a small hillside town in Eastern Italy.
In Europe, one sees many...
Focus: The Legacy of Matteo Ricci
In 1618, Fr. Johann Adam Schall von Bell, a brilliant young Jesuit scholar from Germany, set out for the mysterious and still little-known land of China. Following in the footsteps of his Jesuit missionary predecessor Matteo Ricci, Schall mastered the Chinese language and diligently adapted his lifestyle to Chinese culture. When Schall's talents in astronomy and mathematics attracted the attention of the Ming Dynasty Emperor, he was...
Read more: On the shoulders of Matteo Ricci: Adam Schall von Bell
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