“Mute Preachers”: the Writing of Matteo Ricci''s Chinese Works and Readers'' Reception
Date Issued
2009
Date
2009
Author(s)
Wu, Hsin-Fang
Abstract
The aim of this research is to depict the role of Matteo Ricci’s Chinese books in the Sino-western cultural relations during the Ming and Qing dynasties. This research is divided into two main parts: one is on the missionary author and the other is on the Chinese readers. The western books Jesuits brought with them, as well as China’s book culture, consisted important elements of consideration for Ricci’s writing. In the first part about the missionary author, we will show how Ricci embodied both European and Chinese experiences in his writings. In the second part about the readership, we will reveal the various ways with which the Chinese readers, including Christian converts and even anti-Christians, responded to the messages conveyed by Ricci. Since books are not “islands” isolated from each other, the classification of Ricci’s books in the existing corpus of Chinese knowledge expresses another way to understanding Ricci’s writings.his research points out the critical role of Ricci in Jesuit publication in China. As a Jesuit leader in early mission, Ricci’s decisions and strategies became more or less the model to follow for his successors. Ricci not only showed his passion for writing Chinese books, but also simultaneously urged his fellow Jesuits in Europe to satisfy the need for more missionary workers and western books for the China mission. Moreover, in the following centuries, Ricci’s Chinese writings had been continuously reprinted and read by Chinese people, thus becoming the legacy of numerous Chinese Christians
Subjects
Jesuits in China
Matteo Ricci
written culture
history of reading
classification of knowledge
Type
thesis
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
ntu-98-R94123004-1.pdf
Size
23.53 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(MD5):f2b834e7e115f6c016effe5af823a15d