Mission to China

Matteo Ricci and the Jesuit Encounter with the East

Mary Laven

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Paperback

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English

Faber & Faber
01 February 2012

History; Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church; Christian mission & evangelism

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.

By: Mary Laven
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 197mm, Width: 126mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 239g
ISBN: 9780571225187
ISBN 10: 0571225187
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 February 2012
Recommended Age: From 0 to 0 years
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Mary Laven lectures in History at the University of Cambridge, and is a Fellow of Jesus College. She grew up in Canterbury, and apart from interludes in Venice and York, has spent most of her subsequent life in Cambridge. She loves Italy, archives, beer, and walking around the suburbs of unfamiliar cities. Her first book, Virgins of Venice: Enclosed Lives and Broken Vows in the Renaissance Convent, won the John Llewellyn Rhys prize.