Macau Ricci Newsletter 1

No. 1 － June 2003

International Symposiums

Past Symposium

To commemorate the 450 th anniversary of St. Francis Xavier's death (December 3, 1552) on Shangchuan Island, Guangdong Province, China, an international symposium on “Religion and Culture: Past Approaches, Present Globalization, Future Challenges” was organized by the Institute and held in Macau on November 28-29, 2002.

Out of 25 speakers, 10 scholars from China delivered papers.

The programme included: 1.– The European Renaissance Mind in the Encounter with Asia. 2.– Experiences (India, Macau, Malacca, Singapore, Canton). 3.– & 4. – Religious Traditions in contemporary China.

On December 1 and 2, a pilgrimage-visit on the island concluded the symposium.

2003 Symposium

On November 27-29, 2003, the Institute will hold another international symposium on “Culture, Art, Religion: Wu Yushan and his Inner Journey.” Wu Li 吴歷 , alias Yushan 漁山 [1632-1718] was an outstanding Chinese painter and poet from the province of Jiangsu, who after his conversion to the Christian faith entered the Jesuit order. He later worked in the region of Shanghai as a parish priest for 30 years until the end of his life.

The main themes of the symposium are:

- Cultural background of Wu Yushan's time.

- Relationship between painting and calligraphy in Chinese literati works.

- Wu Yushan's original Christian poetry.

- Ritual use of music and religious practice in China at the time of Wu Yushan.

- Spiritual quest and conversion in the Early Qing and the search for meaning.

Annual Academic Activities Program

Future Symposiums

- 2004: “Culture, Law and Order – Chinese and Western Traditions.”

- 2005: “ 馬相伯 Ma Xiangbo and the Foundation of 复旦 Fudan University” – in cooperation with Fudan University at the occasion of its first centenary.

- 2006: “Alessandro Valignano, the Vision and the Strategy” – in collaboration with Antoni J. - Üçerler, S.J. and with the coordination of the Historical Institute of the Sophia University, Tōkyō, and of the San Francisco Ricci Institute at the University of San Francisco.

Research and Publication Projects of the Institute

- Christian Cochini, S.J., does research on interreligious dialogue with Chinese Buddhist monastic communities, visits Buddhist communities in China, and is preparing for publication a “Guidebook to the Buddhist Communities, Temples and Monasteries of China.”

- A hypertext and critical edition of Alessandro Valignano's Del principio y progresso de la religión Christiana en Jappón (1601-1603) , is being prepared by Antoni J. Üçerler, S.J., an associate member of the Institute who teaches at Sophia University, Tōkyō.

- The Institute is in the midst of the preparatory work for the publication of a bi-lingual cultural quarterly named in Chinese 神州交流 Shen zhou jiao liu , in English Chinese Cross Currents.

- In cooperation with the Monumenta Serica Institute (Germany), and a team of other scholars (Allemagne, Australia, Poland, Portugal), the Institute is preparing the first edition of the Acta Pekinensia [Events and Documents of Beijing] (1705-1711) – official notes of the apostolic notary Kilian Stumpf, S.J. (1655-1720) – an outstanding manuscript essential for a better understanding of the Chinese Imperial Court during the Chinese Rites Controversy.

Past and current activities of Institute's researchers and members

The Year 2001

January 1 st : In collaboration with the Macau Sino-Latina Foundation and the City of Beijing, the Institute was co-organizer of the exhibition on “Macau: East-West Cultural Relics,” an integral part of the great exhibition that took place at the Millennium Monument, in Beijing, on “Chinese History and Culture”.

October 14-17: Participation in the international symposium “Encounters and Dialogues” organized at the occasion of the commemoration of the 400 th anniversary of Matteo Ricci's arrival to Beijing.

October 24-25: In another international symposium on “Matteo Ricci: Per un dialogo tra China e Occidente” held at the Gregorian University in Rome, Yves Camus, S.J. , associate director of the Institute, presented a paper entitled: “1601 – A Year of Real Significance. Celebration of What? Why?”

At the end of November, Luís Sequeira, S.J., participated in the public presentation of the first critical and fac simile edition of the P ortuguese-Chinese Dictionary manuscript composed in Macau by the Jesuit Michele Ruggieri (1543-1607) and Matteo Ricci (1552-1610). The ceremony was presided over by the President of Portugal, Dr. Jorge Sampaio.

On December 14-15 , the first international symposium of the Institute on “Macau on the Threshold of Third Millennium” was organized in Macau in cooperation with the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China, Hong Kong.

The Year 2002

On April 2-3, Yves Camus, S.J., participated in the international conference on “Business Ethics in the Knowledge Economy,” organized by the Baptist University of Hong Kong. Later, on April 6-8, he was invited to participate in an international symposium on “Religion, Morality and Social Concern,” organized by the Institute of Religious Studies of Fudan University, Shanghai.

During the month of June, Dr. César Guillén-Nuñez , an research fellow of the Institute was invited by the Museu de Macau to give a series of lectures on “George Chinnery and the Art of the China Trade.” He was also co-organizer, with Artur Wardega, S.J., of the workshop series “The Awakening of Romanticism,” presented monthly at the Institute from October 18, 2002 through April 25, 2003. As the presenter of three papers, he also collaborated in the international symposium on “Religion and Culture”, organized by the Institute on November 28-29, 2002.

On July 1-7, Artur Wardega, S.J., participated in the national workshop on Religions and Art held by the Department of Religion at the Buddhist Nan Hua University in Taiwan; on July 3, he gave a lecture in Chinese entitled: “The Heaven and the Earth in the eye of some of the Renaissance famous painters and in their masterpieces.”

From October 18, 2002 till April 25, 2003 , in collaboration with the historian of art, Dr. César Guillén-Nuñez, Artur Wardega, S.J. prepared and led monthly workshops on the theme “The Awakening of Romanticism and its Relevance to Macau.” The series was held and presented at the Institute.

The Year 2003

On February 27, Dr. António Vasconcelos de Saldanha , an associate professor of the Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Politicas of the University of Lisbon, recently appointed Director of the Instituto Português do Oriente, Macau, and member of MRI, presented at the Institute his newly published book: De Kangxi para o Papa, pela via de Portugal. Memory and Documents concerning the intervention of Portugal and the Society of Jesus on the Chinese Rites Controversy and the relations between the Kangxi Emperor and the Holy See (three volumes, ISBN 9728013698) . Professor Paul Rule, a distinguished Fellow and Scholars Council member of the San Francisco Ricci Institute, gave the public presentation of the book. The following day, on February 28, and at the same place, Prof. Paul Rule gave a public lecture on the subject “ Is the Chinese Rites Controversy Over? A Justification for Studying a XVIIth Century Argument.” Both events have been organized jointly by the Institute and the Instituto Português do Oriente.

On April 3-5, Luís Sequeira, Yves Camus and Artur Wardega participated in the bi-annual meeting of the International Ricci Association for Chinese Studies held this time at the San Francisco Ricci Institute. Meanwhile, on April 4 th , they attended at the Center for the Pacific Rim of the University of San Francisco an international conference on “Human Rights in the Pacific Rim.”

Recent Publications

In April 2003, the Macau Ricci Institute Studies series was inaugurated with the publication of its first volume entitled: Macau on the Threshold of the Third Millennium (356 pg., ISBN 99937-758-0-0). The volume gathers all the papers delivered during the symposium organized in November 2001 by the Institute and the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China, Hong Kong. The second volume of the series, entitled: Religion and Culture: Past Approaches, Present Globalization, Future Challenges, is expected to come out of the press by November 2003.

Recent General Assembly

On April 22 this year, in the Institute's premises was held its annual General Assembly. At the exception of two members living overseas, all other founding members were present. Chaired by Beda Liu, S.J., the Assembly was first given a detailed report by Luís Sequeira, Director, on the past activities of the Institute since its regular registration in the Macau Special Administrative Region, on December 10, 1999. The Assembly then examined and approved the financial past exercise of the Institute and the budget necessary for the forthcoming activities of the year 2003. New nominations by election were made for the Directorate (or Board of Directors). Luís Sequeira and Yves Camus have been respectively maintained in the offices of President and Vice-President, and Dominique Tyl, S.J., received the office of Secretary General. He gracefully succeeds Bernard Chu, S.J., who accepted to chair the Institute's Fiscal Council; its other two members are: Alfred Deignan, S.J. (already in the Council) and Mr. Leung Kam Chun, professional auditor and ordinary member of the Institute.