Tomb of Matteo Ricci

Tomb of Matteo Ricci

Matteo Ricci's tomb is located in the middle of the wide green courtyard of Beijing Municipal Party school outside Fucheng gate, Xicheng District, Beijing. There is a small cemetery surrounded by perforated brick walls. There are two gray iron lattice doors in the middle of the south wall, and several green cypress trees are planted in the cemetery.

brief introduction

Matteo Ricci's tomb is in the south of Chegongzhuang street, Xicheng District, Beijing. Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), Italian. Ten years of Wanli in Ming Dynasty

(1582) he came to China as a famous missionary of the Jesuit Catholic Church. In the 29th year of Wanli, he went to Beijing to present the self ringing bell, the map of the world and other objects. He communicated with the literati and bureaucrats to teach western scientific knowledge as a means of preaching. At the same time, he introduced China's scientific and cultural achievements to Europe. After his death, Shenzong "buried with his accompanying officials to the right of Jiaxing temple in erligou outside Fuchengmenwai". The tomb is in the shape of a mound, with a square stone tablet standing in front of it. The cross is decorated on the forehead of the tablet, and the body of the tablet is engraved with the Chinese and Western words "the tomb of the Jesuit". The cemetery is surrounded by brick walls. On the left and right sides are the tombs and steles of two foreign missionaries, Nan Huairen and Tang ruowang.

Tomb site introduction

In the cemetery, three white marble tombstones are erected side by side,

Only the center of the dragon pattern on the forehead is engraved with a cross emblem representing the Catholic Church, indicating that the owner of the tomb is a devout Catholic. In the middle of the stone, the first one is 2.7 meters high and 0.94 meters wide, which was erected in 1610. In the middle of the stele is engraved with the eight characters of "Tomb of the Jesuits". The inscription on the right is: "Mr. Li taboo Matteo, No. Xitai, from Atlantic Italy. He was a member of Zhenxiu society since he was a child. In the Ming Dynasty, he was the first to enter Chinese Yanjiao in Renxin year of Wanli. He came to the capital in the year of gengzi of Wanli, and died in the year of Gengshu of Wanli. Fifty nine years in the world and forty-two years in the society. " Behind the stone tablet is a rectangular brick tomb with grey body and black top, which is 1.5 meters high, 2.4 meters long and 1.3 meters wide. On the east side of Matteo Ricci's tomb is Nan Huairen's tomb, and on the west side is Tang ruowang's tomb.

present situation

This is the tomb of a Jesuit missionary. The small cemetery is surrounded by low walls. In front of it is a stone archway gate. According to historical records, there should be two characters on the tombstone, namely "imperial grant" and a square inscribed by Huang Jishi in Shaojing with the inscription "Muyi Liyan".

But now the handwriting is missing, but the hairpin, the shadow wall and the carved flowers are still clearly visible. Li Gong's tomb is indeed very high, which stands out among a group of missionaries. It's not hard to understand that Li Gong deserves such treatment no matter in terms of seniority or contribution. The gray tomb is also as Chinese and Western as Ligong's life. The typical Western decoration is olive and rose branches. On the top of the tomb is a Chinese dragon. Behind the tomb is a square stone coffin. According to historical records, on one side of the tombstone was engraved "Mr. Li, taboo Matteo, No. Xitai, Atlantic Italian..." On one side of the epitaph is engraved in Latin. But these are no longer visible. An old resident in the courtyard said that during the "Cultural Revolution", in order to "make imperialism never turn over and step on ten thousand feet again", all the tombstones were smashed down and buried underground. They were not restored until Li Xiannian became president of the state. If you look carefully, there are indeed traces of splicing on the tombstone. On both sides of Matteo Ricci's tomb are two lower tombstones. The handwriting on the left is slightly clear, and the words "Tang ruowang" can be seen, while the one on the right is not very clear. Looking down from the fragrance, a bunch of flowers were placed in front of Tang Gong's monument, which added some vitality to the solemn cemetery. "It's true that foreigners always come to sweep tombs. Every time they come, they will bring a bunch of flowers. By the way, it's not Sunday today, so it's more normal. " A dog walking aunt said with a smile.

Matteo Ricci related information

Matteo Ricci died on May 11, 1610 in Beijing at the age of 59. According to the Chinese practice at that time, foreigners were to be buried in Macao after their death. However, in order to commemorate Matteo Ricci, Chinese Catholics went up to the court, applied for land grant and buried in Beijing. Emperor Wanli, the emperor of Ming Shenzong, made an exception and granted the burial site and funeral fees. He also granted the western suburb of Beijing "erligou Buddhist temple, 38 houses and 20 mu of foundation, to bury Lizi". He set up a stone as a record of literature "(see the deeds of Mr. daxili). The tombstone was set up by Yin Wang Yinglin of shuntianfu. When they were buried in October this year, all the civil and military officials of the imperial court attended the funeral, which was very solemn. At that time, a eunuch once asked the Prime Minister Ye Wenzhong about giving Matteo Ricci a burial place alone: "all the guests from afar have never been given a burial place since ancient times. Why are they more generous than Lizi?" Ye replied: "when I see the guests from ancient times, is my moral knowledge just like those who benefit my son? No matter what else, if you translate the book geometry, you can give me a cheap burial place. " As for the burial of the cemetery, there is a general description in the scenery of the imperial capital: "when Matteo died, he was ordered to be buried with his entourage. Two Li outside Fuchengmenwai, to the right of Jiaxing temple. Its Kan Feng is also different from that of China. It is round from the bottom of the seal. It is square as if it were on the platform, and round as if it were broken wood. The six corners of houxu hall provide the vertical and horizontal cross. The back edge does not have the seal character, but the spiral pattern The front hall of the tomb is double, offering sacrifices to the sages of the country. There is a inscription on the sundial stone in front of the hall, which says: "the shadow of the beautiful sun is not empty. All the things you see are in line with the times." Tan Yuanchun wrote a poem "passing the tomb of lixitai": "come from old Chang'an and share a coffin in the west of the city. He called on heaven's heart to suffer from his own misfortune, and took the mountain to blame. It is not wise to attack others with proprieties and music. If you go all the way to China, don't teach the strange bones to be desolate and cold. " Later, there was a bamboo poem written by Matteo Ricci: "the Catholic Church is in full swing, and the bells and harps ring from high to low. The rose hair outside Fucheng gate, the glass of wine also poured litasi

Profile

Matteo Ricci was born in 1552 in Macerata, Marche, Italy. His family runs his pharmacy, which is a famous local family. Matteo Ricci has been studying in a Jesuit high school here, and his father has always been worried about Matteo Ricci's joining the Jesuits. Matteo Ricci came to Rome at the age of 16, studied at the College of Santo tomeria, and joined the Jesuit Church on the day of the ascension of the Virgin Mary in 1571. In 1572, he studied philosophy and Theology at the Roman college sponsored by the Jesuit Church, and studied astrology from the mathematician Christopher Klau. At that time, father Alessandro valignani was also his teacher. During this period, he also learned Latin and Greek, and also used Portuguese and Spanish. He was one of the pioneers of Catholicism in China, and the first western scholar to read Chinese literature and study Chinese classics. In addition to spreading Catholicism, he also made friends with Chinese officials and celebrities and spread scientific and technological knowledge of Western astronomy, mathematics and geography. His works not only made an important contribution to the communication between China and the west, but also had an important impact on the understanding of Western civilization by Japan and countries on the Korean Peninsula.

In 1577, Matteo Ricci was allowed to preach in the Far East. On March 24, 1578, Matteo Ricci set out from Lisbon to go to India to preach with 14 other Jesuits by boat. All the way around the Cape of good hope, through Mozambique, after six months of sailing, finally arrived in Goa, India, the most important colony of Portugal in Asia, on September 13. The journey was very hard. Before reaching Goa, 13 of the 400 slaves on board from Mozambique died.

Before Matteo Ricci came to India, because of Francis Xavier's praise of India and the deification of the church, what he heard about India was very fascinating, and it was easy to preach here. But the contrast of reality puzzled him. In 1580, he wrote a letter to mafi, a Jesuit historian, in Portuguese. He said, "if you look at the explanatory books and maps about India and Japan, you will find obvious fallacies everywhere." However, the Jesuits' missionary work in Japan was very successful, and Nestorians were also found in India. This made Matteo Ricci and their spirits very excited.

Matteo Ricci preached in India and Jiaozhi for four years. He also studied humanities in Goa Seminary and theology after his promotion to priest on July 26, 1580. In India, he realized that the local people should be allowed to study philosophy, doctrine and theology, and he wrote to the Jesuit headquarters to ask this question. He believes that if "they are prevented from holding office with others - to rise up through learning - I fear that they will hate us, and that our main purpose in India, the mission of the Jesuits, to convert pagans to our sacred faith, will come to nothing." His view has been consistent throughout his life, which is also his attitude after he entered China. In the biography of Matteo Ricci written by Luo Guang, it is said that "he can win the respect of Chinese literati and bureaucrats in this spirit."

Address: No.6 Chegongzhuang street, Xicheng District, Beijing

Longitude: 116.34778728605

Latitude: 39.930580291743

Ticket information: free.

Chinese PinYin : Li Ma Dou Mu