RICCI
36
RICCI
this manner, they furthered it not a Uttle by their
edifying regular ' life, their disinterestedness, their
charity, and their patience under persecutions which
often destroved the fruits of their labours.
Developmait of the Missions. — Father Ricci played the chief part in these earlv attempts to make Chris- tianity know-n to the Chinese. In 1607 Father Ruggieri died in Europe, where he had been sent in 15S8 by Father Valignani to interest the Holy See more particularly in the missions. Left alone with a young priest, a pupil rather than an assistant, Ricci was expelled from Chao-k'ing in 1589 by a viceroy of Canton who had found the house of the missionaries suited to his o\%-n needs; but the mission had taken root too deeply to be exterminated by the ruin of its first home. Thenceforth in whatever town Ricci sought a new field of a])ostolate he was preceded by his reputation and he found powerful friends to pro- tect him. He first went to Shao-chow, also in the province of Canton, where he dispensed with the services of interpreters and adopted the costume of the educated Chinese. In 1595 he made an attempt on Nan-king, the famous capital in the south of China, and, though unsuccessful, it furnished him with an opportunity of forming a Christian Church at Nan- ch'ang, capital of Kiang-si, which was so famous for the number and learning of its educated men. In 159S he made a bold but equally fruitless attempt to establish himself at Peking. Forced to return to Nan-king on 6 Feb., 1599, he found Providential compensation there; the situation had changed com- pletely since the preceding year, and the highest mandarins were desirous of seeing the holy doctor from the West take up his abode in their city. Al- though his zeal was rewarded with much success in this wider field, he constantly longed to repair his repulse at Peking. He felt that the mission was not secure in the provinces until it was established and authorized in the capital. On 18 May, 1600, Ricci again set out for Peking and, when all human hope of success was lost, he entered on 24 January, 1601, summoned by Emperor Wan-li.
Last Labours. — Ricci's last nine years were spent at Peking, strengthening his work with the same wisdom and tenacity of purpose which had conducted it so far. The imperial goodwill was gained by gifts of European curiosities, especially the map of the world, from which the Asiatic ruler learned for the first time the true situation of his empire and the existence of so many other different kingdoms and peoples; he required Father Ricci to make a copy of it for him in his palace. At Peking, as at Nan- king and elsewhere, the interest of the most intelligent Chinese was aroused chiefly by the revelations which the European teacher made to them in the domain of the sciences, even tho.se in which they considered themselves mo.st proficient. Mathematics and astronomy, for example, had from time immemorial formed a part of the institutions of the Chinese Government, but, when they listened to Father Ricci, even the men who knew most had to acknowl- edge how small and how mingled with errors was their knowk'dge. But this recognition of their ignorance and their eHt<'em for European learning, of which they had ju.st gr)t a glimp.se, impelled very few Chinese to make s<Tious clToris to acfjuin; this knowUnlge, their attax-hrnent to tradition or the routine of national t^-aching b«-ing too deep-rooUsd. However, the Chin«-w governors, who even at the present day have nia<Je no att^-mpt at reform in thi.s matter, flid not wish tfj deprive tru; country of all the advantages of Europr-an diHcoveries. To procure them recourse had to be ha<l to the missionaries, and thus the Chinf-M- mis.sion from Ricci's time until the end of the eighteenth century found its chief protection in the 8er\ncc8 performed with the asHistance of European learning. lather Ricci made use of profane science
only to prepare the ground and open the way to the
apostolate properly so called. With this object in
\dew he employed other means, which made a deep
impression on the majority of the educated class, and
especially on those who held public offices. He com-
posed under various forms adapted to the Chinese
taste little moral treatises, e. g., that called by the
Chinese "The Twenty-five Words", because in
twenty-five short chapters it treated "of the mortifi-
cation of the passions and the nobility of virtue".
Still greater admiration was aroused by the "Para-
doxes", a collection of practical sentences, useful
to a moral life, familiar to Christians but new to the
Chinese, which Ricci developed with accounts of
examples, comparisons, and extracts from the Scrip-
tures and from Christian philosophers and doctors.
Not unreasonably proud of their rich moral literature,
the Chinese were greatly surprised to see a stranger
succeed so well; they could not refrain from praising
his exalted doctrine, and the respect which they soon
acquired for the Christian writings did much to
dissipate their distrust of strangers and to render
them kindly thsposed towards the Christian reUgion.
But the book through which Ricci exercised the widest and most fortunate influence was his "T'ien- chu-she-i" (The True Doctrine of God). This was the little catechism of Chao-k'ing which had been delivered from day to day, corrected and improved as occasion offered, until it finally contained all the matter suggested by long years of experience in the apostolate. The truths which must be admitted as the necessary preliminary to faith — the existence and unity of God, the creation, the immortality of the soul, reward or punishment in a future life — are here demonstrated by the best arguments from reason, while the errors most widespread in China, especially the worship of idols and the belief in the transmigra- tion of souls, are successfully refuted. To the testi- mony furnished by Christian philosophy and theology Ricci added numerous proofs from the ancient Chinese books which did much to win credit for his work. A masterpiece of apologetics and controversy, the "T'ien-chu-she-i", rightfully became the manual of the missionaries and did most efficacious missionary work. Before its author's death it had been reprinted at least four times, and twice by the pagans. It led countless numbers to Christianity, and aroused esteem for our religion in those readers whom it did not convert. The perusal of it induced P^mperor K'ang-hi to issue his edict of 1692 granting liberty to preach the Gospel. The iMni^Tor Kien-long, al- though he persecuted the Christians, ordered the " T'ien-chu-shc-i " to be placed in his lil)rary with his collection of the most notable productions of the Chinese language. Even to the present time mission- aries have experienced its benefic(>nt influence, which was not confined to China, being felt also in Japan, Tong-king, and other countries tributary to Chinese literature.
Besides the works intended especially for the in- fidels and the catechumens whose initiation was in progress, P'ather Ricci wrote others for the new Christians. As founder of the mis.sion he had to invent formula- capable of expressing clearly and un- equivocally our dogmas and rites in a language which had hitherto never been put to such use (except for the Nestorian use, with which Ricci was not ac- quainted). It was a delicate and (liflicuU, task, but it formed only a part of the heavy burdfii which the direction of the mission was for Father Ricci, par- ticularly during his last years. While advancing gradually on the capital Ricci did not abandon the territory already conquered; he trained in his meth- ods the fellow-workers who joined him and com- missioned them to continue his work in the cities he left. Thus in 1601 the mis.sion included, besides Peking, the three residences of Nan-king, Nan-ch'ang,
