Zhong Wen: Exactly. We are compelled to envision religious integration, for only through this can we promote Great Harmony under Heaven and prevent humanity from destroying itself. On this topic, there is one person whom I deeply admire—the man known as the “Ambassador of Cultural Exchange”: Matteo Ricci.

Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), an Italian Jesuit missionary, was sent overseas by the Roman Curia in the 16th century to spread Christianity, but he unexpectedly discovered another civilization unlike the West—he discovered Confucius. Without realizing it, he acknowledged the coexistence of religions. Ricci became the first person in human history to unite within himself both the learned arts of the European Renaissance and the classical studies of Confucius’s Four Books and Five Classics. He was the first scholar of religion to bridge East and West, the world’s first “global citizen,” and a pioneer who stood with one foot in each civilization.

Ricci broke free from the outdated Western habit of judging other nations by European standards. In addition to spreading Christian theology, he also introduced geometric reasoning, a cosmological view rooted in astronomy and geography, and a humanistic perspective. He translated Confucius’s Analects into Latin—the first person to introduce Confucius to Europe. In his work The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven, he compared Christian doctrine with Confucianism and Buddhism and discovered that the “Heaven” referred to by Confucius was essentially identical with the Christian “God.” Thus he established the so-called “Ricci Rule,” permitting Confucian scholars to become Christians without giving up the customs of “worshiping Heaven” or “honoring Confucius.” This policy was approved by the Roman Church.

Ricci also introduced China’s imperial examination system to Europe, enabling the West to adopt a merit-based model for selecting talent. As a result of Ricci’s introduction of Confucius to Europe, figures such as Voltaire (1694–1778) in France and Leibniz (1646–1716) in Germany came to know the Sage for the first time.

During his four-year stay in India (1578–1582, ages 26–30), Ricci was ordained a priest at age 28. Yet the seminary run by the Church in India refused to admit local people into philosophy courses, nor did it permit local aspirants to the clergy to audit classes in doctrine or theology. Ricci protested angrily—foreshadowing the stance he would later take in China.

Ricci arrived in Macau in August 1582. During the month-long voyage he had already begun learning Chinese. With more than forty thousand characters, Chinese writing appeared to him like drawings in endless variety; yet its advantage was that people speaking mutually unintelligible dialects could still communicate through a shared script—something astonishing to Europeans. The French comparatist Étiemble even once proposed adopting Chinese as the universal language. Though learning Chinese was arduous, Ricci embraced the new culture with a gentle and harmonious attitude.

Bo Ya: As a “mediator of Sino-Western cultural exchange,” Ricci not only helped Christianity take root in China but also brought Chinese culture to Europe. This bidirectional exchange made him a truly epoch-making figure.

Zhong Wen: Indeed. The reason Ricci could accomplish so much lay in an even deeper force—namely, the Age of Discovery and the Protestant Reformation. Specifically, the Jesuit order to which Ricci belonged was part of the Catholic camp. To counter the movement launched by Martin Luther and others, the Jesuits vigorously reformed Catholic practice and sought to recover the Church’s losses in Europe by expanding overseas missions.

In other words, behind Ricci’s religious zeal stood the pressure generated by Protestantism. From the timeline, it is clear that Ricci’s work was essentially a response to Martin Luther’s movement half a century earlier. Luther (1483–1546) lived 63 years; Ricci (1552–1610) lived 58. When Luther died in 1546, Ricci was only six years old. Luther was of the previous generation.

Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German theologian and philosopher, priest and professor within the Holy Roman Empire. In the early 16th century, he initiated the German Reformation, which later spread across Europe and gave rise to Protestantism.

Matteo Ricci (1552–1610)—Chinese name Li Madou, courtesy names Xitai and Qingtai, also called Xijiang—was an Italian Jesuit priest, missionary, and scholar. He arrived in China in 1583 during the Ming dynasty and was highly esteemed by the literati, who called him the “Western Confucian.” He was a pioneer of Catholic missions in China and the first Western scholar to deeply study Chinese literature and classical texts. In addition to preaching Christianity, he engaged widely with Chinese officials and cultural elites, spreading Western knowledge in astronomy, mathematics, geography, and other sciences. His writings contributed significantly to Sino-Western exchange and also influenced Japan and Korea’s understanding of Western civilization.

Ricci was declared a “Servant of God” in 1984. In 2011, the Diocese of Macerata in Italy began the process for his beatification. In 2022, Pope Francis proclaimed Ricci “Venerable.”

Bo Ya: It seems you have indeed studied this topic in depth. Our discussion can go further.

Zhong Wen: Indeed. Look at Matteo Ricci’s chronology and you can see his ambition—

Ricci went to India at 26 for four years, leaving at 30.
In 1582 Ricci, aged 30, went to China.
In 1583 Ricci followed Rodrigues to Zhaoqing and stayed six years.
In 1588 Rodrigues returned to Italy.
In 1589 Ricci went to Shaozhou and stayed two years.
In 1595 Ricci went to Nanchang and stayed five years.
In 1596 Ricci was appointed head of the China mission and built a Catholic church in Nanjing, where he stayed five years.
In 1600 he went to Beijing and remained ten years.
In 1601 he was received by the Wanli Emperor.
In 1605 he brought 200 people in Beijing into the Catholic Church.
He died in Beijing in 1610 at the age of 58; he lived in Beijing for nine years.
Altogether Ricci lived 28 years in China, more than his 26 years in Europe.

Bo Ya: Indeed—Ricci was practically “half a Chinese”!

Zhong Wen: Below are some reflections I wrote after studying Ricci’s life—

1. Ricci was born into the distinguished Italian “Li family pharmacy.” When he came to China he was astonished by the great variety of medicinal herbs.

2. Ricci did not begin to learn Chinese characters until age 36; he followed his elder predecessor Rodrigues (nine years older) and likewise practiced the missionaries’ careful manner in dealing with people.

3 Tian (Heaven): all returns to Heaven; lacking knowledge of God, the earth-mother produces life’s necessities, not scheming with people but in accord with Heaven.

4. Plato’s “Republic” is already “practiced” in China.

5. Without mentioning Christianity, dressed in Buddhist monastic robes, officials and commoners treated him like a Buddhist monk and bowed to him.

6. The spread of Christianity showed a Confucianizing tendency. The missionaries had the face of scientists.

7. Water-town scenery; traveling from southern waterways to Beijing took three months.

8. Vast territory with abundant resources: tea, wine, porcelain, horses, iron-hoofed animals, engineering techniques, southern ships and northern horses, great ships, architecture.

9. China is a treasury of civilization: bureaucracy and the examination system.

10 Ricci: “God is our great parent”—ancestor worship helps the propagation of Christian doctrine.

11. Civilized governance—examinations, civil rule, civil officials, nine ranks of office…

12. Ricci: “China most highly reveres moral philosophy”—xiucai exams, Four Books and Five Classics, juren examinations every three years.

13. Jinshi was equivalent to a doctorate; examinations every three years; returning home to study three more years; being a jinshi at 50 was still considered young.

14. Military examinations: fifty candidates per province, selecting a hundred nationwide.

15. China emphasizes psychological observation and aphorisms; China lacks a systematic philosophy or theology—(the word “philosophy” in Japanese was coined in the early Meiji period).

16. China stresses morality and knows nothing of dialectics.

17. The greatest philosopher is Confucius, and successive emperors revere him.

18. Ricci was an “accommodationist,” advocating the fusion of Christianity and Confucianism; but Christianity by nature is jealous and incompatible with pagan religions. Since coexistence is impossible, Ricci emphasized that Confucianism is not a religion but a moral code, and that rites to Confucius are non-religious.

19. Ricci never suggested Confucius was a Chinese god—he was cautious to avoid religious traps.

20. “Do not impose on others what you do not want”—this view accords with Christianity, so Christianity does not oppose Eastern philosophy.

21. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, faith—observe these Five Constants, which Catholicism also praises.

22. Confucianism as an academic society: the Confucian scholars are merely an academic group; Confucian scholars can become Christians, which can promote social peace.

23. A faction within the Jesuits opposed the Ricci Rules; Ricci’s accommodationist policy was fully overturned by the Pope about one hundred years after his death—in 1742 (the 7th year of Qianlong).

24. Not until 1939 did Pope Pius XII formally rule that “the placing of Confucius’ image should not be blamed, and bowing before the image is not objectionable,” and that “bowing at the tombstones of the dead should be considered conforming to Church regulations” — a papal vindication more than 300 years after Ricci’s death.

25. From one-way transmission to two-way exchange, Ricci opened the prelude to the West’s introduction of Chinese thought.

26. The plan to dispatch papal envoys—Rodrigues and others worked ceaselessly and with great hardship; due to the deaths of three successive popes their mission nearly failed, and Rodrigues ended his life returning home, translating the Four Books into Latin and leaving a lasting legacy.

27. “Assimilate with the locals.” Ricci: “I have become completely a Chinese.”

28. “I made world maps labeled in Chinese characters.” “Globes were presented to many well-known persons.” “Maps centered on China.”

Bo Ya: Your reflections are comprehensive and deep—now we can unpack them one by one.