The Memory Palace of Matteo RicciFrom the renowned historian and author of The Death of Woman Wang, a vivid and gripping account of the 16th-century missionary’s remarkable sojourn to Ming China In 1577, the Jesuit Priest Matteo Ricci set out from Italy to bring Christian faith and Western thought to Ming dynasty China. To capture the complex emotional and religious drama of Ricci's extraordinary life, Jonathan Spence relates his subject's experiences with several images that Ricci himself created—four images derived from the events in the Bible and others from a book on the art of memory that Ricci wrote in Chinese and circulated among members of the Ming dynasty elite. A rich and compelling narrative about a fascinating life, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci is also a significant work of global history, juxtaposing the world of Counter-Reformation Europe with that of Ming China. |
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | vii |
A CHRONOLOGY | xiii |
BUILDING THE PALACE | 1 |
Copyright | |
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Acquaviva boat Boxer Buddhist buibui Catholic Cheng Dayue China Chinese Chinese scholars Christ Christian church Claudio Acquaviva Clavius Confucian converts d'Elia death ducats emperor Epictetus eunuch Europe faith Father Gujin tushu jicheng History Ibid ideograph Ignatius of Loyola India Islam Japan Japanese Jesuits Jews Jiren journey King letter Lisbon lived Lord of Heaven Ludolfus Macao Macerata Madou Maffei Martin Matteo Ricci memory images memory palace merchant military Ming missionaries mnemonic Montaigne Muslim Nanchang Nanjing nese painting Peking picture Plantin Pope Portuguese priests Quintilian religion religious reprint residence Ricci wrote river Roma Sancta Roman Rome Ruggieri sailed Sebastian Shaozhou ship silk silver sixteenth century slaves sodality Spanish Spiritual Exercises things thousand Tianzhu shiyi tion trade translation University Press Valignano Virgin Voyage Wanli Western words writing Xu Guangqi Zhaoqing