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利瑪竇[View] [Edit] [History]ctext:607888
Relation | Target | Textual basis |
---|---|---|
type | person | |
name | 利瑪竇 | |
associated-place | place:西洋 | 《四庫全書總目提要·卷106 子部·天文算法類》:利瑪竇,西洋人。 |
died-date | 萬曆三十八年四月 1610/5/23 - 1610/6/20 | 《明史·列傳第二百十四 外國七》:瑪竇安之,遂留居不去,以三十八年四月卒於京。 |
born | 1552 | |
died | 1610 | |
authority-cbdb | 30597 | |
authority-viaf | 69722279 | |
authority-wikidata | Q233340 | |
link-wikipedia_zh | 利玛窦 | |
link-wikipedia_en | Matteo_Ricci | |
associated-dynasty | dynasty:明 | 《四庫全書總目提要·卷106 子部·天文算法類》:明利瑪竇撰。 |
Ricci arrived at the Portuguese settlement of Macau in 1582 where he began his missionary work in China. He became the first European to enter the Forbidden City of Beijing in 1601 when invited by the Wanli Emperor, who sought his services in matters such as court astronomy and calendrical science. He converted several prominent Chinese officials to Catholicism. He also worked with several Chinese elites, such as Xu Guangqi, in translating Euclid's Elements into Chinese as well as the Confucian classics into Latin for the first time in history.
Read more...: Early life Ricci in China Riccis approach to Chinese culture Cause of canonization Commemoration Works The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven Other works
Early life
Ricci was born 6 October 1552 in Macerata, part of the Papal States and today a city in the Italian region of Marche. He studied the classics in his native hometown and studied law at Rome for two years. He entered the Society of Jesus in April 1571 at the Roman College. While there, in addition to philosophy and theology, he also studied mathematics, cosmology, and astronomy under the direction of Christopher Clavius. In 1577, he applied for a missionary expedition to the Far East. He sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, in March 1578 and arrived in Goa, a Portuguese colony, the following September. Ricci remained employed in teaching and the ministry there until the end of Lent 1582, when he was summoned to Macau to prepare to enter China. Ricci arrived at Macau in the early part of August.
Ricci in China
In August 1582, Ricci arrived at Macau, a Portuguese trading post on the South China Sea. At the time, Christian missionary activity in China was almost completely limited to Macau, where some of the local Chinese people had converted to Christianity. No Christian missionary had attempted seriously to learn the Chinese language until 1579 (three years before Ricci's arrival), when Michele Ruggieri was invited from Portuguese India expressly to study Chinese, by Alessandro Valignano, founder of St. Paul Jesuit College (Macau), and to prepare for the Jesuits' mission from Macau into Mainland China.
Once in Macau, Ricci studied the Chinese language and customs. It was the beginning of a long project that made him one of the first Western scholars to master Chinese script and Classical Chinese. With Ruggieri, he traveled to Guangdong's major cities, Canton and Zhaoqing (then the residence of the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi), seeking to establish a permanent Jesuit mission outside Macau.
In 1583, Ricci and Ruggieri settled in Zhaoqing, at the invitation of the governor of Zhaoqing, Wang Pan, who had heard of Ricci's skill as a mathematician and cartographer. Ricci stayed in Zhaoqing from 1583 to 1589, when he was expelled by a new viceroy. It was in Zhaoqing, in 1584, that Ricci composed the first European-style world map in Chinese, called "Da Ying Quan Tu" (大瀛全圖). No prints of the 1584 map are known to exist, but, of the much improved and expanded Kunyu Wanguo Quantu of 1602, six recopied, rice-paper versions survive.
It is thought that, during their time in Zhaoqing, Ricci and Ruggieri compiled a Portuguese-Chinese dictionary, the first in any European language, for which they developed a system for transcribing Chinese words in the Latin alphabet. The manuscript was misplaced in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, rediscovered only in 1934, and published only in 2001.
There is now a memorial plaque in Zhaoqing to commemorate Ricci's six-year stay there, as well as a "Ricci Memorial Centre" in a building dating from the 1860s.
Expelled from Zhaoqing in 1588, Ricci obtained permission to relocate to Shaoguan (Shaozhou, in Ricci's account) in the north of the province, and reestablish his mission there.
Further travels saw Ricci reach Nanjing (Ming's southern capital) and Nanchang in 1595. In August 1597, Alessandro Valignano (1539–1606), his superior, appointed him Major Superior of the mission in China, with the rank and powers of a Provincial, a charge that he fulfilled until his death. He moved to Tongzhou (a port of Beijing) in 1598, and first reached the capital Beijing itself on 7 September 1598. However, because of a Chinese intervention against Japanese invasion of Korea at the time, Ricci could not reach the Imperial Palace. After waiting for two months, he left Beijing; first for Nanjing and then Suzhou in Southern Zhili Province.
During the winter of 1598, Ricci, with the help of his Jesuit colleague Lazzaro Cattaneo, compiled another Chinese-Portuguese dictionary, in which tones in Chinese syllables were indicated in Roman text with diacritical marks. Unlike Ricci's and Ruggieri's earlier Portuguese-Chinese dictionary, this work has not been found.
In 1601, Ricci was invited to become an adviser to the imperial court of the Wanli Emperor, the first Westerner to be invited into the Forbidden City. This honor was in recognition of Ricci's scientific abilities, chiefly his predictions of solar eclipses, which were significant events in the Chinese world. He established the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing, the oldest Catholic church in the city. Ricci was given free access to the Forbidden City but never met the reclusive Wanli Emperor, who, however, granted him patronage, with a generous stipend and supported Ricci's completion of the Zhifang Waiji, China's first global atlas.
Once established in Beijing, Ricci was able to meet important officials and leading members of the Beijing cultural scene and convert a number of them to Christianity.
Ricci was also the first European to learn about the Kaifeng Jews, being contacted by a member of that community who was visiting Beijing in 1605. Ricci never visited Kaifeng, Henan Province, but he sent a junior missionary there in 1608, the first of many such missions. In fact, the elderly Chief Rabbi of the Jews was ready to cede his power to Ricci, as long as he gave up eating pork, but Ricci never accepted the position.
Ricci died on 11 May 1610, in Beijing, aged 57. By the code of the Ming Dynasty, foreigners who died in China had to be buried in Macau. Diego de Pantoja made a special plea to the court, requesting a burial plot in Beijing, in the light of Ricci's contributions to China. The Wanli Emperor granted this request and designated a Buddhist temple for the purpose. In October 1610, Ricci's remains were transferred there. The graves of Ferdinand Verbiest, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, and other missionaries are also there, and it became known as the Zhalan Cemetery, which is today located within the campus of the Beijing Administrative College, in Xicheng District, Beijing.
Ricci was succeeded as Provincial Superior of the China mission by Nicolò Longobardo in 1610. Longobardo entrusted another Jesuit, Nicolas Trigault, with expanding and editing, as well as translating into Latin, those of Ricci's papers that were found in his office after his death. This work was first published in 1615 in Augsburg as De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas and soon was translated into a number of other European languages.
Riccis approach to Chinese culture
Ricci could speak Chinese as well as read and write classical Chinese, the literary language of scholars and officials. He was known for his appreciation of Chinese culture in general but condemned the prostitution which was widespread in Beijing at the time. During his research, he discovered that in contrast to the cultures of South Asia, Chinese culture was strongly intertwined with Confucian values and therefore decided to use existing Chinese concepts to explain Christianity. With his superior Valignano's formal approval, he aligned himself with the Confucian intellectually elite literati, and even adopted their mode of dress. He did not explain the Catholic faith as entirely foreign or new; instead, he said that the Chinese culture and people always believed in God and that Christianity is simply the completion of their faith. He borrowed an unusual Chinese term, Tiānzhǔ (天主, "Lord of Heaven") to describe the God of Abraham, despite the term's origin in traditional Chinese worship of Heaven. (He also cited many synonyms from the Confucian Classics.) He supported Chinese traditions by agreeing with the veneration of family ancestors. Dominican and Franciscan missionaries considered this an unacceptable accommodation, and later appealed to the Vatican on the issue. This Chinese rites controversy continued for centuries, with the most recent Vatican statement as recently as 1939. Some contemporary authors have praised Ricci as an exemplar of beneficial inculturation, avoiding at the same time distorting the Gospel message or neglecting the indigenous cultural media.
Like developments in India, the identification of European culture with Christianity led almost to the end of Catholic missions in China, but Christianity continued to grow in Sichuan and some other locations.
Xu Guangqi and Ricci become the first two to translate some of the Confucian classics into a western language, Latin.
Ricci also met a Korean emissary to China, teaching the basic tenets of Catholicism and donating several books. Along with João Rodrigues's gifts to the ambassador Jeong Duwon in 1631, Ricci's gifts influenced the creation of Korea's Silhak movement.
Cause of canonization
The cause of his beatification, originally begun in 1984, was reopened on 24 January 2010, at the cathedral of the Italian diocese of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia. Bishop Claudio Giuliodori, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Macerata, formally closed the diocesan phase of the sainthood process on 10 May 2013. The cause moved to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican in 2014.
Commemoration
The following places and institutions are named after Matteo Ricci:
• Matteo Ricci Pacific Studies Reading Room at The National Central Library of Taiwan
• Ricci Hall, a dormitory at The University of Hong Kong
• Ricci Building, a building at Wah Yan College, Kowloon in Hong Kong
• The Matteo Ricci Study Hall, at the Ateneo de Manila University
• Matteo Ricci College, Kowloon in Hong Kong
• Matteo Ricci College, at Seattle University
• Colégio Mateus Ricci, Macau
• Sekolah Katolik Ricci 1 and 2 in Jakarta, Indonesia
• Taipei Ricci Institute, Taiwan
• Macau Ricci Institute, Macau
• Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at the University of San Francisco.
• The Matteo Ricci Seminar at Fordham University
• Centro Matteo Ricci, a center for refugees and asylum seekers run by the Italian branch of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Rome, Italy
• Matteo Ricci Hall-"R" Hall, Ricci Hall Annex-"RA" Hall, two buildings at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea
In the run-up to the 400th anniversary of Ricci's death, the Vatican Museums hosted a major exhibit dedicated to his life. Additionally, Italian film director Gjon Kolndrekaj produced a 60-minute documentary about Ricci, released in 2009, titled Matteo Ricci: A Jesuit in the Dragon's Kingdom, filmed in Italy and China.
In Taipei, the Taipei Ricci Institute and the National Central Library of Taiwan opened jointly the Matteo Ricci Pacific Studies Reading Room and the Taipei-based
online magazine eRenlai, directed by Jesuit Benoît Vermander, dedicated its June 2010 issue to the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Ricci's death.
Works
The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven
The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven (天主實義) is a book written by Ricci, which argues that Confucianism and Christianity are not opposed and in fact are remarkably similar in key respects. It was written in the form of a dialogue, originally in Chinese. Ricci used the treatise in his missionary effort to convert Chinese literati, men who were educated in Confucianism and the Chinese classics. In the Chinese Rites controversy, some Roman-Catholic missionaries raised the question whether Ricci and other Jesuits had gone too far and changed Christian beliefs to win converts.
Peter Phan argues that True Meaning was used by a Jesuit missionary to Vietnam, Alexandre de Rhodes, in writing a catechism for Vietnamese Christians. In 1631, Girolamo Maiorica and Bernardino Reggio, both Jesuit missionaries to Vietnam, started a short-lived press in Thăng Long (present-day Hanoi) to print copies of True Meaning and other texts. The book was also influential on later Protestant missionaries to China, James Legge and Timothy Richard, and through them John Nevius, John Ross, and William Edward Soothill, all influential in establishing Protestantism in China and Korea.
Other works
• De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas: the journals of Ricci that were completed and translated into Latin by another Jesuit, Nicolas Trigault, soon after Ricci's death. Available in various editions:
• Trigault, Nicolas S. J. "China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Mathew Ricci: 1583-1610". English translation by Louis J. Gallagher, S.J. (New York: Random House, Inc. 1953)
• On Chinese Government, an excerpt from Chapter One of Gallagher's translation
• De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas, full Latin text, available on Google Books
• A discourse of the Kingdome of China, taken out of Ricius and Trigautius, containing the countrey, people, government, religion, rites, sects, characters, studies, arts, acts; and a Map of China added, drawne out of one there made with Annotations for the understanding thereof (an early English translation of excerpts from De Christiana expeditione) in Purchas his Pilgrimes (1625). Can be found in the "Hakluytus posthumus". The book also appears on Google Books, but only in snippet view.
• An excerpt from The Art of Printing by Matteo Ricci
• Ricci's On Friendship published in Chinese in 1595, translated to English in 2009.
• Ricci's World Map of 1602
• Rare 1602 World Map, the First Map in Chinese to Show the Americas, on Display at Library of Congress, 12 Jan to 10 April 2010
• The Chinese translation of the ancient Greek mathematical treatise Euclid's Elements (幾何原本), published and printed in 1607 by Matteo Ricci and his Chinese colleague Xu Guangqi
1984年獲得天主之僕稱號。天主教馬切拉塔教區于2011年開始對耶穌會士利瑪竇神父列真福品進行審理。
Read more...: 生平 成為耶穌會士 印度之旅 中國之行 到達澳門,住入廣州 落腳肇慶 到韶州 到南昌 到南京 長住北京 身後之事 成就 傳播西學 對中國的讚揚 對中國的批評 利瑪竇規矩 著作 評價 正面評價 負面評價 紀念
生平
成為耶穌會士
1552年(明嘉靖三十一年),利瑪竇出生於教宗國馬切拉塔城(現屬意大利馬爾凱大區)。那時尚是文藝復興時期,半島上城邦林立,他的家族經營利氏藥房,是當地的名門。利瑪竇在當地一所耶穌會開辦的中學學習,他的父親一直很擔心利瑪竇加入耶穌會。
利瑪竇十六歲來到羅馬,在聖湯多雷亞的學院學習預科,並於1571年(明隆慶五年)的聖母升天節那天加入了耶穌會。1572年(隆慶六年)在耶穌會主辦的羅馬學院學習哲學和神學,並師從數學家克拉烏學習天算,其時范禮安也是他的老師。在這段時期,他還學會了拉丁文和希臘語,而且也會使用葡萄牙語和西班牙語。
印度之旅
1577年(萬曆五年)利瑪竇獲准赴遠東傳教。1578年(萬曆六年)3月24日,利瑪竇從里斯本出發乘船和其他14名耶穌會士一起前往印度傳教。一路上繞過好望角,途經莫桑比克,經過6個月的航行,終於在9月13日到達印度果阿——葡萄牙在亞洲最重要的殖民地。路途非常辛苦,在到達果阿前,船上來自莫桑比克的400名奴隸死了13名。
利瑪竇在來到印度之前,由於沙勿略之前對印度的讚美以及教會的神化,他所聽說的印度非常令人神往,在這裡傳教也比較容易。但是現實的反差令他大惑不解。1580年(萬曆八年),他在給耶穌會的歷史學家瑪菲用葡萄牙語寫的信中說道:「查看一下有關印度、日本的注釋書和地圖類,會發現明顯的謬誤比比皆是。」但是耶穌會在日本佈教非常順利,而且在印度還發現了基督教聶斯脫里派(景教)的信徒。這使得利瑪竇他們在精神上非常振奮。
利瑪竇在印度和交趾支那傳教四年。其間在果阿的神學院還學習了人文學科,在1580年(萬曆八年)7月26日晉升為司鐸後,又學習了神學。他在印度認識到,應該允許當地人也學習哲學、教理和神學等歐洲文化,並且寫信給耶穌會總部提出了這個問題。他認為:「如果阻攔他們與他人為伍擔任職務——通過學問而出人頭地——,我擔憂他們會憎恨我們,而我們耶穌會在印度的主要目的,感化異教徒使他們皈依我們神聖信仰的使命,將會化為泡影。」這也是利瑪竇進入明朝後所持的態度,並終其一生一直維持這個看法。羅光所寫的《利瑪竇傳》中說,這是「他能贏得我國士大夫的尊敬亦以此精神故。」
中國之行
到達澳門,住入廣州
1581年(萬曆九年),羅明堅神父向東方總巡察使范禮安舉薦了利瑪竇。1582年(萬曆十年)利瑪竇應召前往中國傳教,8月7日到達澳門。
傳教士想以中文著述天主教義來吸引明朝官民,「練習用他們的語言寫作,作為一種吸引捕捉他們心靈的手段。」因此他們先在澳門努力學習中文。他脫下洋裝,換上漢服,同時學習兩種近代漢語——近代南京官話和近代粵語廣府話,還閱讀大量中文書籍。利瑪竇對完全與拼音文字不同的漢字感到興奮。此外,在澳門的時候正好有來自日本的天正遣歐使節團路過,利瑪竇趁此機會還學了一點日語。
利瑪竇在廣州住在懷遠驛,在這期間結識了南京禮部尚書王忠銘,為表敬意贈予王尚書一冊世界地圖。到了1582年9月10日,他沿西江來到肇慶,見這湖光山色,民眾寬厚,便立定主意留下來,開展傳教。
落腳肇慶
1583年(萬曆十一年),利瑪竇獲准與羅明堅神父入居廣東肇慶,獲得兩廣總督郭應聘制台和肇慶知府王泮太守(正式官名是知府)的接待。。他們對中國官員自稱來自「天竺」,致使中國人以為他們是佛教徒。利瑪竇解釋來中國的原因:「我們是從遙遠的西方而來的教士,因為仰慕中國,希望可以留下,至死在這裏侍奉天主。」他不敢直接回答傳教的目的,否則他可能會被驅逐。為了傳教,他們從西方帶來了許多用品,比如聖母像、地圖、星盤和三稜鏡等。其中還有歐幾里得《幾何原本》,利瑪竇更組織當地幾位知識界人士共同譯出漢文版,先後在廣州、韶關等地講授。這是國人研究西歐幾何學的開端。利瑪竇還將交流思想和學術經驗的心得和知識作成《天學實踐》一書。利瑪竇帶來的各種西方的新事物,吸引了眾多好奇的中國人。特別是他帶來的地圖,令中國人眼界大開。
這一年的8月在肇慶建立了「僊花寺」(僊即仙),開始傳教工作。起初傳教十分低調。神父們行事小心謹慎,主要精力都在學習漢語和中國的禮節習俗,以博得中國人,尤其是官員們的信任。他們身穿佛教僧侶的服飾,認為這樣能夠博得人們的好感,而且他們也覺得這與天主教神父的裝束相差不大。這也使中國人更加相信他們是遠道而來的僧人。他們在這裡挂上了聖母瑪利亞的畫像,許多士人官吏,甚至僧人都來跪拜,他們感到非常興奮。但是從中國人的角度來講,這更多是出於禮節性的,而沒有宗教意義。也有記述說,他們擔心中國人看到聖母瑪利亞的畫像會誤認為他們的神是女性,而改挂了基督像。
明神宗萬曆十二年(1584年),利瑪竇繪製了《大瀛全圖》。利瑪竇利用解釋各種西方事物的機會,同時介紹了他們的天主教信仰。他們翻譯了《十誡》、《天主經》和《聖母讚歌》,以及《教理問答書》。很快亦有中國人對天主教產生興趣。於是利瑪竇開始派發羅明堅撰寫的《天主實錄》,以中文解釋天主教的教義。許多中國人都對這部書產生了很大的興趣。但是無論如何,無論是「僊花寺」的創立,還是《天主實錄》的刊行,中國人始終是把它當作佛教的一個派系而已,中國人對於基督教還沒有多少實質的認識。
到韶州
1589年(萬曆十七年)夏天,廣東新任總督劉繼文將利瑪竇所住的西式建築據為己有,並以利瑪竇的宗教為「邪教」,把他驅逐出肇慶境域,於是利瑪竇移居韶州。在韶州的時候,利瑪竇遇到了一次意外。他們遇上了強盜打劫,雖然利瑪竇受了一點傷,但是幸好他們嚇退了強盜,而且這些強盜很快就被逮捕歸案。在韶州期間,另外一個不幸是利瑪竇的兩名部下相繼逝世。1591年(萬曆十九年)麥安東神父逝世;1593年(萬曆二十一年)石方西神父也辭世了。而另外一名羅明堅神父則早已返回了歐洲,現在只剩下利瑪竇一人從事在中國的傳教事業。感到欣慰的是,他在肇慶結識的士人瞿汝夔(太素)成為了他的好友和弟子,還幫助利瑪竇翻譯了歐幾里得《幾何原本》的第一卷。藉著瞿汝夔的宣傳,以及贈送高官們利瑪竇自己製作的天體儀、地球儀和計時用的日晷等西洋物品,利瑪竇的名聲逐漸在當地的達官貴人中傳開,其間他還被瞿汝夔的朋友邀請去了一趟南雄。
在韶州,利瑪竇攻讀《四書》,並首次將之譯為拉丁文。而通過與瞿汝夔和其他許多中國上流社會人士的接觸,利瑪竇才知道佛教僧侶裝扮在當時的中國社會並不受到尊重,社會地位比較低下。為了更方便與中國的官員交往,在徵得范禮安的同意後,從1594年(萬曆二十二年)起,利瑪竇開始蓄髮留鬚,並穿起了當時儒士的服裝。
到南昌
1595年(萬曆二十三年)利瑪竇藉口為一位北上任職官員之子治病,而獲得了去南京的機會。但是到了南京以後,利瑪竇陪同的官員對他逐漸失去了興趣,利瑪竇只好自己設法留在南京。然而這一次失敗了。他只好折返南昌,並獲得批准在此居住。1596年(萬曆二十四年)9月22日,利瑪竇成功的預測了一次日食,使他很快成為了一個有名的人物,期間結交了章潢等儒士權貴,曾登堂講學于白鹿洞書院,並受到建安王的熱情款待。他在寫給耶穌會的報告中解釋了自己出名的理由:一是因為當地從沒有見過外國人;二是利瑪竇的記憶力非常好,以至於許多中國人都想學習,他也因此用漢語寫了一本《西國記法》的書來介紹他的記憶方法;三是他能夠運用四書五經來宣講基督教的教義;四是他的自然科學知識;五是傳說他會鍊金術;六是有人向他求教基督教。另外在這一年利瑪竇為了練習用漢語寫文章,寫了一部談論友情的著作《交友論》而意外的獲得士人的欣賞。
1596年(萬曆二十四年)利瑪竇被范禮安任命為耶穌會中國教區的負責人,由利瑪竇全權負責在中國的傳教活動。並且指示利瑪竇想辦法到北京去覲見中國的皇帝,以達到在中國傳教的有力保障。而且還從澳門送去了許多準備送給中國皇帝的禮物。
到南京
接受了新任務的利瑪竇開始策劃北京之行。沒過多久,他就聯繫了北上任南京禮部尚書的王忠銘一起帶他去南京,而且王忠銘還表示要帶他去北京。於是1598年(萬曆二十六年)6月25日,利瑪竇與另一位郭居靜神父同王忠銘一起離開南昌奔赴南京。7月初,他們一行到達南京,9月7日抵達北京。但當時正值日本侵犯朝鮮,爆發萬曆援朝之役,利瑪竇作為外國人無法在北京久留,而且又遇到了財政上的困難,僅住一個多月便只好返回,次年(萬曆二十七年)2月6日再度到達南京。
在南京居住期間,利瑪竇通過瞿太素的幫助,結交了不少名士,如南京禮部侍郎葉向高、思想家李贄、徐光啟等。當然這主要還是人們對於他的自然科學知識的傾慕。值得一提的是,在南京利瑪竇還與一位三淮和尚(即大報恩寺僧雪浪)進行了一場辯論,在這次辯論中,利瑪竇憑藉其科學性的思辨明顯占了上風。他還在正陽門(今光華門)內洪武崗西崇禮街(今尚書巷)建成中國第四座天主教堂,他在城西羅寺轉灣的住址後來也成為著名的天主教堂——石鼓路天主教堂。這些活動使南京成為中國天主教史上最重要的傳教中心之一。
長住北京
1600年(萬曆二十八年)5月18日,利瑪竇帶著龐迪我神父和準備好獻給皇帝的禮物再度赴京,並於1601年(萬曆二十九年)1月24日抵達北京。進呈自鳴鐘、《聖經》、《坤輿萬國全圖》、大西洋琴等方物,得明神宗信任。同年,明神宗下詔允許利瑪竇等人長居北京。但中國的朝廷根本沒有注意到,利瑪竇長住北京的目的是為了傳播天主教。
之後利瑪竇在北京以豐富東西學識,結交中國的士大夫。常與賓客談論天主、靈魂、天堂、地獄。同時編撰新書,包括以中文寫成的《二十五言》等,得到不少中國知識分子的尊重。史冊記載:「自瑪竇入中國後,其徒來益眾」。到了1605年(萬曆三十三年),北京已有200人信奉天主教,當中有數名更是公卿大臣。這當中最著名的,也是後來影響最大的是進士出身的翰林徐光啟。
1610年(萬曆三十八年)5月11日利瑪竇病逝於北京,享年58歲。賜葬於平則門外的二里溝滕公柵欄。逝世前指定龍華民接任教會中職務。
身後之事
依照明朝的慣例,客死中國的傳教士必須遷回澳門神學院墓地安葬。1610年5月利瑪竇病逝於北京後,其他傳教士和利瑪竇受洗的教徒都希望可以得到皇帝的恩准,讓利瑪竇安葬於北京,藉此來認可教會和天主教在中國的合法存在。為此,耶穌會士龐迪我神父向萬曆皇帝上呈奏疏,希望能破例賜地埋葬利瑪竇。龐迪我在奏章里稱:
雖然朝廷中有人反對,但該事在內閣大學士葉向高等人的多方努力下,還是很快得到了萬曆皇帝的照准。1611年,由徐光啟主持,萬曆皇帝賜利瑪竇安葬於平則門外二里溝的滕公柵欄,教會無需付款便可擁有這份產業。至19世紀末,安葬於滕公柵欄的歐洲傳教士已逾百名。1900年,墓地被義和團砸毀,墓穴被掀,碑石被砸;其後清政府依《辛丑條約》出資重修了被毀墓地,而且還立了一塊道歉的石碑。20世紀初,此地已經成為天主教的公共墓地。墓地面積也不斷擴大。至中華人民共和國成立,柵欄墓地已先後埋葬了數百名西方傳教士,成為明清以來西方傳教士在東方安息的一個最為集中的所在。
1949年中華人民共和國成立之後,外國神父鑑於當時的政治環境被迫撤離了中國。1954年,墓地內的墓碑只有利瑪竇、湯若望、南懷仁三塊依照政務院文化教育委員會宗教事務處的指示被保留在原地。文化大革命期間,利瑪竇墓碑被紅衛兵平埋於地下,使其「永世不得翻身」。1973年,馬尾溝教堂被拆,墓碑更是無人照管。1978年10月,鄧小平、李先念等五位中共中央領導「批准」重修利瑪竇墓。1979年後,墓地得到了修複,並列入了北京市文物保護單位。
利瑪竇墓現位於北京西城區阜成門外的中共北京市委黨校院內。
如今公墓東邊墓碑數十塊。西邊有墓碑三塊:面向墓穴,中間為利瑪竇,左右首分別為湯若望、南懷仁。利瑪竇的墓碑上刻著「耶穌會士利公之墓」,拉丁文、漢文並列:
成就
傳播西學
中國在唐朝時曾一度流行基督教的聶斯脫里派(景教),元朝時天主教進入中國,但是到了明朝建立以後,中國基本上已沒有基督徒。利瑪竇可以說是天主教在中國傳教的開創者之一。他成功在北京覲見皇帝,而且在士大夫中建立良好聲譽和關係,開啟了日後其他傳教士進入中國之門,而且也開創了日後200多年傳教士在中國的活動方式:一方面用漢語傳播基督宗教,利瑪竇本人更穿著中國士大夫服飾;另一方面用自然科學知識來博取中國人的好感。
帶著西學而來的利瑪竇開展了晚明以來士大夫學習西學的風氣。由明萬曆至清順治年間,一共有一百五十餘種的西方書籍翻譯成中文。
利瑪竇撰寫的《天主實錄》以及和徐光啟等人翻譯的歐幾里得《幾何原本》等書不僅帶給中國許多先進的科學知識和哲學思想,而且許多中文詞彙,例如點、線、面、平面、曲線、曲面、直角、鈍角、銳角、垂線、平行線、對角線、三角形、四邊形、多邊形、圓心、外切、幾何、星期等等辭彙就是由他們創造並沿用至今。
利瑪竇製作的世界地圖《坤輿萬國全圖》是中國曆史上第一個世界地圖,在中國先後被十二次刻印。而且問世後不久,在江戶時代前期也被介紹到了日本。該地圖使得日本人傳統的崇拜中華的「慕夏」觀念因此發生根本性的變化。對日本地理學的發展,有著很重要的影響。北極、南極、地中海、日本海等詞彙皆出於此地圖。至今,日本仍稱17世紀至18世紀的地圖為利瑪竇系地圖。
對中國的讚揚
進入了中國的利瑪竇對中華文化非常稱讚:除了還沒有沐浴「我們神聖的天主教信仰」之外,「中國的偉大乃是舉世無雙的」「中國不僅是一個王國,中國其實就是一個世界。」他感嘆「柏拉圖在《理想國》中作為理論敘述的理想,在中國已被付諸實踐。」而且他還發現中國人非常博學,「醫學、自然科學、數學、天文學都十分精通。」但是他也發現「在中國人之間科學不大成為研究對象。」。
對中國的批評
利瑪竇在晚年的回憶錄《利瑪竇中國札記》中又有著不同的記載:
利瑪竇規矩
利瑪竇容許中國教徒繼續傳統的祭天、祭祖、祭孔。利瑪竇主張以「天主」稱呼天主教的「神」(拉丁文:Deus;意即「天地萬物的創造者」);他認為中國傳統的「天」和「上帝」本質上與天主教所說的「唯一真神」並無分別。而祭祀祖先與孔子,這些只屬追思先人與緬懷哲人的儀式,與信仰並無甚麼幹涉;只要不摻入許願、崇拜、祈禱等成分,本質上並沒有違反天主教教義。利瑪竇的傳教策略和方式,一直為之後到中國傳教的耶穌會士所遵從,是為「利瑪竇規矩」。
康熙時代,道明會傳教士為了排擠耶穌會傳教士在中國傳教,向教宗申訴利瑪竇等人允許中國教徒崇拜祖先,違背了天主教教義。道明會傳教士建議教宗派特使到中國晉見康熙帝,要求更改利瑪竇規矩以排除容許中國傳統的傳教方式,和康熙爭辯。康熙認為「不可理喻」,強令傳教士遵從,否則逐回。此即中國禮儀之爭事件。而祭祖敬孔的禁令直到數百年後的1939年12月8日由教宗庇護十二世廢除,這也側面顯示出了利瑪竇對中國文化的了解。
著作
• 《天主實錄》:利瑪竇翻譯了羅明堅編《新編西竺國天主實錄》。起名為《天主實義》,亦名《天學實錄》,這本書第一次系統地向中國人論証了上帝的存在、人的靈魂不朽大異禽獸和死後必有天堂地獄之賞罰,報世人所為善惡的天主教教義。《天主實義》亦是最早把星期制度引進中國的。《天學實義》後來被乾隆皇帝收錄在四庫全書中,並有蒙、滿、朝鮮、越南及日文譯本。
• 《幾何原本》(譯本):利瑪竇與徐光啟合譯了歐幾里得《幾何原本》的前六卷。利瑪竇使用《幾何原本》是他在羅馬學院學習用的課本,由利瑪竇的恩師——當時歐洲著名的數學家克拉維烏斯神父整理編纂。克拉維烏斯神父在原本後又增添了兩卷注釋,總共十五卷。
• 《坤輿萬國全圖》:世界地圖。
• 《西字奇蹟》:(今改名《明末羅馬字注音文章》),是中國漢字拉丁化道路之始。
• 《二十五言》:該作系從羅馬哲學家愛比克泰德的《手冊》翻譯而出,反映了後期斯多亞派哲學的觀點。
• 《畸人十篇》:利瑪竇同十位中國士大夫的對話集。
• 《交友論》:收入了古羅馬西塞羅入文藝複興時期人文主義大師愛拉斯謨等人論友誼的格言上百則。也有利瑪竇根據他對中國人的思想了解而編寫的。這是利瑪竇所寫的第一部華文著作。
• 《西國記法》:一本介紹利瑪竇本人如何能有過目不忘的能力的書。
• 《辯學遺牘》:1635年出版,收錄了利瑪竇以天主教觀點與明末淨土宗袾宏和其門生虞淳熙的佛教觀點交流的信件。
• 《同文算指》:介紹歐洲算術,根據克拉烏維斯所著的《實用算術概論》(,1583年)譯成。內容由基本四則運算、分數至比例、開方、正弦餘弦等三角幾何。由李之藻筆錄,清朝時錄入四庫全書。
• 《測量法義》:關於應用幾何、測量,由徐光啟筆錄,附《勾股義》。
• 《圜容較義》:李之藻筆錄。
• 《渾蓋通憲圖說》:天文學知識,李之藻筆錄。
此外,他還寫過或參與寫過《西琴八曲》、《齋旨》、《乾坤體義》等著作。
利瑪竇用意大利文寫的日記後經比利時耶穌會士金尼閣整理翻譯為拉丁文,出版於1615年,取名《基督教遠征中國史》,漢譯名為《利瑪竇中國札記》。
1910年,汾屠立神父()將耶穌會羅馬檔案館中發現的利瑪竇意大利語原文手稿同其他書稿以題名《利瑪竇神父歷史著作集》()刊行,共上下兩卷。1942年,德禮賢神父()將其編入《利瑪竇全集》()。
評價
正面評價
長期以來,西方許多人,尤其是天主教徒將他視為令人景仰的,「誘導異教徒皈依」的傳教士。而東方卻將他視為促進東西方交流的科學家。這種評價主要是因為他向東亞地區傳播了西方的幾何學、地理學知識,以及人文主義和天主教的觀點,同時他又向西方介紹了中國文化。也因此,有人將他視為一位漢學家。徐光啟在《刻幾何原本序》中闡述利瑪竇的學問時說:「顧惟先生之學,略有三種:大者修身事天;小者格物窮理;物理之一端別為象數……而余乃亟傳其小者」。
教宗若望保祿二世在《利瑪竇到北京四百週年國際學術研討會致詞》中對利瑪竇的評價可以代表天主教會的觀點:
《利瑪竇傳》一書的日本作者平川佑弘稱利瑪竇是「人類歷史上第一位集歐洲文藝複興時期的諸種學藝,和中國四書五經等古典學問于一身的巨人。」他還將利瑪竇看作是「地球上出現的第一位『世界公民』()」。(中文版序言)
美國《生活》雜誌亦將他評為公元第二千年內(1000年-1999年)最有影響力的百名人物中的一員。
負面評價
對於日後康熙帝禁止天主教在華傳教活動,利馬竇的傳教手法亦要負上部份責任。故日本學者中村久次郎在《利瑪竇傳》一書中說:「以基督教之本義密觀之,利氏之調和法,乃功過相半。」
紀念
• 利瑪竇宿舍,又稱利瑪竇堂,是香港大學唯一的天主教男宿舍,1929年由耶穌會建立。
• 臺灣新北市天主教輔仁大學的「利瑪竇樓」(耶穌會所有)。
• 在台北、舊金山、巴黎和澳門有「利氏學社」。
Source | Relation | role |
---|---|---|
乾坤體義 | creator | |
二十五言 | creator | |
交友論 | creator | |
天主實義 | creator | |
幾何原本 | creator | 譯 |
畸人十篇 | creator | |
辨學遺牘 | creator |
Text | Count |
---|---|
清史稿 | 5 |
清史紀事本末 | 2 |
明史 | 14 |
四庫全書總目提要 | 39 |
坤輿圖說 | 1 |
四庫全書簡明目錄 | 7 |
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