Matteo Ricci (1552 to 1610) was an Italian Jesuit born in Macerata in the Papal States, a founding figure of the Jesuit mission to China who served at the court of the Ming dynasty. He studied the classics and law, entered the Society of Jesus in 1571 and learned mathematics, cosmology and astronomy under Christopher Clavius at the Roman College. After teaching in Goa he reached Macau in 1582, mastered spoken and written Chinese, and in 1601 became the first European invited into the Forbidden City in Beijing, where the Wanli Emperor wanted his help with court astronomy and the calendar. He drew the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu, a world map of 1602 labelled in Chinese characters, and with Xu Guangqi translated Euclid Elements into Chinese.
Facts
Field
Field (category) Connections
Works In
Source Matteo Ricci (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Matteo Ricci (Wikipedia)Lead, nationalityQuote, Lead, nationality
was an Italian Jesuit who served in the court of Ming dynasty China
Sources
1. Matteo Ricci (Wikipedia)
Life
Ricci was born on 6 October 1552 in Macerata
Lead, court astronomy
who sought his services in matters such as court astronomy and calendrical science
Lead
He mastered the Chinese language and writing system.
Lead, nationality
was an Italian Jesuit who served in the court of Ming dynasty China
In Group: Historical And Classical Astronomers, Lead, occupation
who sought his services in matters such as court astronomy and calendrical science
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.