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Matteo Ricci

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (October 6, 1552-May 11, 1610)
    Born in Macerata, Italy
    Jesuit priest
    Missionary to India (1578-82) and China (1582-1610)
    Wrote 'The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven,' arguing that Christianity and Confucianism are compatable
    Journals published as 'About the Christian Expeditions to China Undertaken by the Society of Jesus' (1615)

Why he might be annoying:

    He joined the Jesuits against his father's wishes.
    He left for India without visiting his family to say goodbye.
    He described Buddhist monks as 'vile and abject.'
    He was accused of altering Christian doctrine to win over Chinese converts.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was the first Westerner invited into the Forbidden City by the Emperor.
    He translated Western books on science and mathematics into Chinese and the works of Confucius into Latin.
    His journals were the first in-depth look at China by a man fluent in the language to be published in Europe.
    He dissed feng shui as nonsense on par with astrology: 'What could be more absurd than their imagining that the safety of a family, honors, and their entire existence must depend upon such trifles as a door being opened from one side or another, a window opened here or there, or one roof being higher than another?'
    One biographer wrote, 'Matteo Ricci was the perfect man of culture, a polymath versed in all things, mathematics and literature, philosophy and poetry, mechanics and astronomy.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 19 Votes: 52.63% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 18 Votes: 55.56% Annoying