利玛窦Matteo Ricci

在家接受父母教育后，利玛窦于1561年进入马切拉塔的耶稣会学校。他于1568年前往罗马学习法律，但他被耶稣会宗教修会吸引，并于1571年加入。随后，他在罗马继续学习，在克里斯托佛·克拉乌指导下学习数学和天文学。

利玛窦于1577年开始他的海上航行。他首先到达葡萄牙，在科英布拉大学学习了一段时间。然后，在1578年，他航行到印度西海岸的葡萄牙城市果阿。在果阿，利玛窦学习神职，并于1580年被任命为神父。两年后，他航行到中国。

利玛窦于1582年到达中国东海岸的澳门。他定居在广东省肇庆，并开始学习中文。他还努力了解中国文化。在那里，利玛窦制作了他的世界地图Great Map of Ten Thousand Countries的第一版，这是一项非凡的成就，展示了中国在世界上的地理位置。

1589年，利玛窦搬到韶州，开始向中国学者教授他从老师克里斯托佛·克拉乌那里学到的数学思想。这也许是欧洲数学和中国数学首次互动，必须被视为一个重要事件。利玛窦于1595年试图访问北京，但发现该城市对外国人关闭。他转而前往南京，从1599年起在那里居住，从事数学、天文学和地理学工作。

利玛窦在南京受到欢迎，这鼓励他再次尝试前往北京，他于1601年成行。这一次他被允许住在城里，从那时起直到九年后去世，他一直以此为家。

当时欧洲人对马可·波罗经陆路访问过、称为“契丹”的地方是否就是经海路访问过的中国，存在疑问。马可·波罗也是意大利人，他于1271年开始从欧洲穿越亚洲旅行，在契丹生活了17年后返回意大利。利玛窦确信这些地方是同一个国家，但在另一次陆路旅行完成之前，这一点无法得到证实。利玛窦的假说由另一位名叫De Goes的耶稣会士所证明，他于1602年从印度出发，尽管他在1607年到达北京之前就去世了，但那时他已通过书信与利玛窦取得联系，并证明马可·波罗的契丹就是中国。

当利玛窦住在北京时，他的中文水平已足以让他用中文出版几本书。他写了The Secure Treatise on God（1603年）、The Twenty-five Words（1605年）、The First Six Books of Euclid（1607年）和The Ten Paradoxes（1608年）。The First Six Books of Euclid依据的是克里斯托佛·克拉乌的拉丁文版本，该版本译自欧几里得的Elements，而利玛窦在罗马时曾在克里斯托佛·克拉乌的指导下研读过它。中国对利玛窦这本书的反应——该书首次向他们展示了欧几里得的Elements中的逻辑结构——在[10]中有所讨论。当然，欧几里得的风格与中国数学的风格相去甚远，这种数学文化的混合对双方来说必定都是一次文化冲击。

当然，利玛窦必须穿着中国学者的服饰，并以中文名字为人所知，他使用“利玛窦”，以便被中国人接受。然而，他在中国出名不仅仅是因为他的数学才能，还因为他非凡的记忆力和天文学知识。他甚至以画家闻名，最近有一幅北京周边风景画被归到他名下。

利玛窦被安葬在北京的耶稣会士墓地（栅栏）。见THIS LINK。

After being educated at home by his parents, Matteo Ricci entered the Jesuit School in Macerata in 1561. He went to Rome in 1568 to study law but he was attracted to the Jesuit religious order which he joined in 1571. He then continued his studies in Rome, studying mathematics and astronomy under Clavius.

Ricci set out on his sea voyages in 1577. He arrived first in Portugal where he studied at the University of Coimbra for a while. Then, in 1578, he sailed to the Portuguese city of Goa on the west coast of India. In Goa Ricci studied for the priesthood, and he was ordained in 1580. Two years later he sailed to China.

Ricci arrived at Macau on the east coast of China in 1582. He settled in Chao-ch'ing, Kwangtung Province and began his study of Chinese. He also worked at acquiring understanding of Chinese culture. While there Ricci produced the first edition of his map of the world Great Map of Ten Thousand Countries which is a remarkable achievement showing China's geographical position in the world.

In 1589 Ricci moved to Shao-chou and began to teach Chinese scholars the mathematical ideas that he had learnt from his teacher Clavius. This is perhaps the first time that European mathematics and Chinese mathematics had interacted and it must be seen as an important event. Ricci attempted to visit Peking in 1595 but found the city closed to foreigners. He went instead to Nanking where he lived from 1599, working on mathematics, astronomy and geography.

Ricci was well received in Nanking and this encouraged him to try again to visit Peking which he did in 1601. This time he was allowed to live in the city and he made this his home from that time until his death nine years later.

There was at that time a problem with the European's understanding of whether the country which Marco Polo had visited by an overland route, and called Cathay, was the same country as China which had been visited by sea. Marco Polo, also an Italian, had travelled from Europe through Asia beginning his journey in 1271 and living in Cathay for 17 years before returning to Italy. Ricci was convinced that these countries were the same but, until another overland journey was made, this could not be confirmed. Ricci's hypothesis was proved by another Jesuit by the name of De Goes, who set out from India in 1602, and although he died in 1607 before reaching Peking, he had by that time made contact by letter with Ricci and proved that Marco Polo's Cathay was China.

By the time he was living in Peking, Ricci's skill at Chinese was sufficient to allow him to publish several books in Chinese. He wrote The Secure Treatise on God (1603), The Twenty-five Words (1605), The First Six Books of Euclid (1607), and The Ten Paradoxes (1608). The First Six Books of Euclid was based on Clavius's Latin version of Euclid's Elements which Ricci had studied under Clavius's guidance while in Rome. The Chinese reaction to Ricci's book, which showed them the logical construction in Euclid's Elements for the first time, is discussed in [10]. Certainly the style of Euclid was far from the style of Chinese mathematics and this mixing of mathematical cultures must have been a cultural shock to both sides.

Ricci of course had to dress in the style of a Chinese scholar and be known under a Chinese name, he used 'Li Matou', to become accepted by the Chinese. However he became famous in China for more than his mathematical skills, becoming known for his extraordinary memory and for his knowledge of astronomy. He even became known as a painter and a painting of a landscape around Peking has recently been attributed to him.

Matteo Ricci was buried in the Jesuit Cemetery (Zhalan) in Beijing. See THIS LINK.