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.
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
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Table of contents
- Prologue: The Mandarin’s Clothes
- Chapter One: The Jesuit and Mathematics
- Chapter Two: In the East
- Chapter Three: The Difficulty of Learning Chinese
- Chapter Four: The Man from the West
- Chapter Five: The Pride of Li Madou
- Chapter Six: The Meeting of Confucius and Euclid
- Chapter Seven: Metamorphosis into Mandarin
- Chapter Nine: To Beijing!
- Chapter Ten: Heated Disputes and Science Lessons
- Chapter Eleven: Prisoner of the Eunuch
- Chapter Twelve: In the Heart of the Empire
- Chapter Thirteen: The Empty Throne
- Chapter Fourteen: The Lord of Heaven
- Chapter Fifteen: Doctor Paul
- Chapter Sixteen: Euclid Becomes Chinese
- Chapter Seventeen: The Open Door
- Chapter Eighteen: After Matteo Ricci
- Chronology
- Chinese Dynasties
- Glossary
- Bibliographic Sources
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
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Yes, you can access Matteo Ricci by Michela Fontana in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Chinese History. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.