Book ID: CBB001202149

Mission to China: Matteo Ricci and the Jesuit Encounter with the East (2011)

unapi

Laven, Mary (Author)


Faber & Faber


Publication Date: 2011
Physical Details: xv + 279 pp.; ill.; maps; bibl.; index
Language: English

In the sixteenth century, the vast and sophisticated empire of China lay almost entirely unknown to Western travellers. As global trade expanded, this land of reputedly boundless wealth, pale-faced women, and indecipherable tongues began to feed the fantasies of European merchants and adventurers. The Catholic Church, meanwhile, saw in this great people millions of souls who would be damned unless the Christian message could be brought to them. In this book, Mary Laven tells the extraordinary story of the first Jesuit mission to China. Confronting enormous challenges, the Italian priest Matteo Ricci and a tiny handful of learned companions gained permission from the notoriously xenophobic Wanli emperor to settle in the fabled Forbidden City. Living among eunuchs and mandarins, wearing the clothes of Confucian scholars, Ricci and his associates strove to master the language and culture of their hosts. At the same time, they energetically preached the virtues of Western art and science. In "Mission to China" Mary Laven brings this remote world vividly to life.

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Reviewed By

Essay Review Criveller, Gianni (2012) [Essay review]. Journal of Asian Studies (pp. 768-773). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001202149/

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Authors & Contributors
Mori, Giuliano
Zeng, Zheng
Yang, Zezhong
Rusk, Bruce
Prieto, Andrés I.
Pan, Yining
Concepts
Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence
Transmission of ideas
Missionaries and missions
Science and religion
East Asia, civilization and culture
Science and culture
Time Periods
17th century
16th century
Ming dynasty (China, 1368-1644)
18th century
Qing dynasty (China, 1644-1912)
Renaissance
Places
China
Americas
Portugal
Institutions
Jesuits (Society of Jesus)
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