A book launch was recently held in Shanghai for a new book written by Prof Tang Kaijian from the Department of History, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau (UM). Titled ‘Compilation and Interpretation of Chinese Literature on Matteo Ricci in Ming and Qing Dynasties’, the book is jointly published by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR and Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House. Three editions of the book, including the paperback edition and the hardcover edition, have been released simultaneously in Macao and mainland China.
The book presents historical data related to the study of Matteo Ricci from Ming dynasty to the end of Qing dynasty. It includes more than 400 kinds of literature sourced from major libraries at home and abroad, databases, and local private collections. Consisting of six volumes, namely ‘Inscription and Biography’, ‘Preface and Postscript’, ‘Official Document’, ‘Thesis and Commentary’, ‘Poetry and Correspondence’, and ‘Miscellaneous Compilations’, the book fully illustrates Matteo Ricci’s impact on the Chinese history and society. The word ‘interpretation’ in the book title refers to the author’s intention to proofread and collate several important western documents about Matteo Ricci and to compare them with materials in Chinese. One example of these documents is Della entrata della Compagnia di Giesù e Christianità nella Cina, the correspondence between Matteo Ricci and Diego de Pantoja. Regarding problems in contemporary studies of Matteo Ricci, the author conducted rigorous research studies and reviewed various versions of documents and historical data.
The history of Catholicism in Ming dynasty is closely related to the history of Macao throughout the period. The historical data are important ingredients for the study of Macaology. The book represents UM’s greatest contribution to Macaology research over the past few years.
