Matteo Ricci

Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) was an Italian Jesuit missionary whose scholarship and cultural accommodation helped establish the Catholic mission in late Ming China.

Chinese rites controversy: A dispute over whether Chinese Catholic converts could continue Confucian and ancestral rites. The accommodation Ricci supported became a defining controversy for the China mission.
Society of Jesus: A Catholic religious order founded by Ignatius of Loyola and companions in the sixteenth century. Ricci entered the order whose global missionary network sent him to Asia.
Kunyu Wanguo Quantu: A world map made by Matteo Ricci and Chinese collaborators in 1602, presenting Europe, Asia, and the Americas in Chinese. The map made European geography accessible to Chinese readers and demonstrated Ricci's cartographic expertise.
Xu Guangqi: A Chinese scholar-official and Catholic convert who collaborated with Jesuits on mathematics and translation. Xu became Ricci's prominent ally and carried Jesuit learning into Chinese scholarly institutions.
Confucianism: A Chinese ethical and political tradition rooted in the teachings associated with Confucius. Ricci presented Catholic ideas through concepts he found in Confucian texts and social practice.
Ignatius of Loyola: A Spanish Catholic priest who founded the Society of Jesus and shaped its spirituality. Ignatius's order and spiritual discipline formed the institutional setting for Ricci's vocation.
European astronomy in China: The transmission of European astronomical methods and knowledge to China, especially through Jesuit scholars. Ricci introduced astronomical knowledge that helped make Jesuit scholarship valuable to Chinese officials.
Li Zhizao: A Ming scholar-official, Catholic convert, and collaborator with Jesuit missionaries. Li helped circulate Jesuit texts and knowledge among Chinese intellectuals.
Chinese language: The group of languages whose most widely spoken variety is Mandarin Chinese, written with Chinese characters. Ricci learned to write and speak Chinese, enabling scholarship and direct engagement with officials.
Roman College: A Jesuit educational institution in Rome, founded in 1551 and later known as the Pontifical Gregorian University. Ricci studied mathematics and natural philosophy there under Christopher Clavius.

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