Matteo Ricci - a summary of his life - 
from  "The Wise Man from the West" (1984 edition)   by Vincent Cronin)
 (under construction...please send new/corrected info + photos, especially of Shui Chow/ Shaoguan and Nanking to jdwomi@hotmail.com )

1552 born October 8 at Macerata in the Papal States (Italy)
1568 studied law in Rome
1571-08-15 entered the Society of Jesus
1575 studied mathematics and astronomy under Clavius
1577 assigned to work in India
1578-03-24 departed from Lisbon
1578-09-13 arrived in Goa (India) where he continued his studies
1580-07-25  ordained in Goa on Feast of St James
1582 (April?) left Goa

1582-08-07 arrived at Macau
1583 September: with Michael Ruggieri left Macau for Zhaoqing (Shiuhing/Siuhing) - stopping in Guangzhou (Canton) - after receiving invitation from governor of Zhaoqing, Wang P'an, who had heard from Ruggieri on a previous visit, of Ricci's skill as a mathematician/cartographer etc.

(Re Ruggieri's previous visit: "In 1582 two Jesuits Ruggieri and Francis Passius, first came to Zhaoqing. They dwelt in the Tian Ning Si (Temple of Celestial Peace). The main south-north road leading to the Star Crag Arch is still called Tianning Road. The 2 Jesuits were ordered to dress as Buddhist monks and to shave their heads. They were chased away a few months later, after the death of the governor". - from "Guide to the Catholic Church in China" (c. 2000?) p. 438)

1583-09-10 arrived in Zhaoqing; lived there until 1589. History of Zhaoqing). Ricci & Ruggieri built a house on land next to site where construction had just begun on a 9-story octagonal tower
* p. 54: The word for God - "Tin Jyu" /"Tian Zhu"/Lord of Heaven - adopted after it was used by their first young catechumen when saluting a painting of  Jesus
* p. 68: In 1584 Ricci drew up the first ever map of the world in Chinese (which he updated in 1600 & 1603)
* p. 71: Ricci ....believed that the most effective way to evangelise China lay through the Emperor. Christianity was a reasonable religion: reason appealed to the head, and therefore to the head of state.
* p. 83: sometime in 1588(?) Ruggieri was replaced by Antonio de Almeida

1589-08-15 Ricci & Almeidai departed from Zhaoqing after a new (unfriendly) viceroy was persuaded to expel them from the city, although the same viceroy finally agreed to help them move to Shiuchow/Shaoguan/Shaozhou  where they arrived on August 25 or 26, 1589, after an overnight  stay at the monastery of Nanhoa/Nanhua 
(old map of Shiuchow/Shaoguan's location)
A visit to Shaoguan August 24-26, 2008.... ...413 years to the day since Ricci arrived here

* p. 98: October 17, 1591(?) Almeida died of malaria. 
* p. 100: In 1592, Ricci returned to Zhaoqing for a few days
* p. 103: Ricci was the person who originated the Latin name "Confucius" for China's most famous scholar
* p. 105: On April 18, 1595 Ricci  left Shaoguan to set out by boat for Nanking. A boating accident claimed  life of Ricci's new companion John Barradas. 

On May 31, 1595  Ricci reached Nanking/Nanjing, "the largest and most beautiful city in the world", according to Marco Polo who visited the city about the year 1280!
p.112: Ricci began wearing a scholar's robes....no more dressing like a (despised) monk
p.115: After only two weeks in Nanjing, Ricci went back south and  spent some time in Nanchang which he reached on June 28, 1595, in order to re-apply for permission to live in Nanjing
P.119-120: Ricci displayed his phenomenal memory - recalling 500 characters after seeing them  for only a few minutes (see links re Ricci's "Memory Palace":   Link One (see reviews at bottom), Link Two, Link Three )
p.124: June 1598  Ricci (for the 2nd time) left Nanchang for Nanjing
p. 126-128: September 7,  1598 - arrived at Tungchow/Tongzhou, port for Peking/Beijing....and the same day arrived in Beijing.  Because of Korean/Japapenese war, Ricci unable to access Imperial Palace, so after 2 months he left Beijing for Nanjing, stopping at Soochow/Suzhou (near Shanghai)

p.129: February 6,  1599, arrived again at Nanjing where he began teaching graduates and mixing with the graduate/mandarin class.
p.142: Ricci bought a house at No. 3 in the street named Ceremonial Rites, near the imperial palace in Nanjing.
p.145: May 19, 1600 Ricci  + Pantoja and Sebastian left by boat for Beijing
p.146ff: July 1600 to January 20, 1601: Ricci and companions are "prisoners" of the eunuch Ma T'Ang in Lintsing/Linqing

p.162: January 24, 1601: arrived again in Beijing. Several days later, after their presents and an introductory letter had been received by the Emperor, they were summoned to the Forbidden City, the first Europeans to enter the City.
With the Emperor's blessing, they settled in Beijing....and made many friends as the years went on.

226:  Chapter 13: the amazing journey of Goes from India to China, eventually (p. 242) meeting Ricci's friend Fernandes. Goes' journey established (p.244) that "Cathay" was "China".  
p.245: The name "China" coming via Portuguese from "Chin" (from a principate in north-west China from 8BC to 3BC) by which China was know in what is now  Southern Vietnam and Thailand

p.252: In 1609, as he felt his life coming to and end,  Ricci wrote the history of his time in China.

p.261: 1610 died May 11, Beijing. His tomb