Michele Ruggieri
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Michele Ruggieri (1543, Spinazzola, Bari, Italy -11 May 1607, Salerno, Italy) was an Italian Jesuit priest, missionary in China and the first European sinologist.
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[edit] Formation years in Europe
Before entering the Society of Jesus (27 October 1572, in Rome) Ruggieri had obtained, in Naples, a doctorate in utroque iure, that is: in civil and canon law. After completing the Jesuit usual spiritual and intellectual formation Ruggieri left for Lisbon, the gateway of all missionaries to the Far-East. In Lisbon, while waiting for the ship to take him to Goa, he was ordained priest (March 1578).
[edit] Missionary in India and China
Soon after ordination (1578) Ruggieri left the shores of Europe with a group of 12 missionaries, among whom Rodolfo Acquaviva and Matteo Ricci. Arrived in India (September 1578), he promptly started to study the language used on the Malabar coast and in 6 months reached such proficiency that he could hear confession. It is probably this gift for language that made him an ideal choice for the beginning of the Chinese mission.
With a few companions, Ruggieri sailed to Macau, on the coast of the Celestial Empire. He landed at the Portuguese trade centre on the 20 July 1579 and started at once to learn how to read and write Chinese. In the process, and aware that several will be following him, he set up Shengma'erding Jingyuan (St Martin House'’), the first school for teaching Chinese to foreigners. Even before Ricci founded the mission of Zhaoqing (in 1582) Ruggieri had visited the town on several occasions and had made useful contacts with the local authorities. As such he is possibly the first to have entered China. In 1582, with due permission, Ricci and Ruggieri finally settled in Zhaoqing, the first stage on the 'long ascend' to Peking.
In 1584 Ruggieri published a Chinese catechism, the first book in Chinese written by a European. Visiting villages in the region he baptized several families that formed the nucleus of the first Christian communities in mainland China.
[edit] Return to Europe
In November 1588 Ruggieri was sent back to Rome to solicit from the pope the sending of an ambassador to the emperor Wanli with the request to grant permission to the missionaries to take up residence within the Empire. In Rome however the death of several popes in quick succession prevented this project to take shape. The Superior General, Claudio Acquaviva decided it would be better to wait for better circumstances. Of a quiet and tranquil nature Ruggieri retired to Salerno where he carried on intellectual work that would make China better known in Europe. He complete the Latin translation of the Four Books (the classic Chinese introduction to Confucius’ philosophy), wrote poetry in Chinese, and circulated copies of Chinese maps he had brought along with him from Zhaoqing. Ruggieri was also a much sought after spiritual guide and confessor in the school of Salerno. He died on the 11 May 1607.
[edit] Bibliography
- DUNNE, G.: Generation of giants, Notre-Dame, 1962.
- GRISONDI, F.A.: M.Ruggieri, Missionario in Cina e primo sinologo europeo, Milano, 1999.
- SHIH, Joseph: Le P.Ruggieri et le problème de l'évangélisation en Chine, Rome, 1964.
[edit] References
- (French) Biography at the Ricci 21st Century Roundtable database, supported only by 5.0 or later versions of Internet Explorer
- (Chinese) Biography at the National Digital Library of China
- (Chinese) About Ruggieri and Ricci at the Vatican Radio
