Macau Ricci Newsletter 2

No. 2 － January 2004

International Symposiums

Symposium 2003

The Macau Ricci Institute holds yearly Symposium on past and present intercultural exchanges between China and the West. This year's international symposium, entitled “Culture, Art, Religion: Wu Li and His Inner Journey,” focused on an outstanding seventeenth-century Chinese painter, poet and Jesuit priest Wu Yushan (1632-1718). The event was held from 27 to 29 of November 2003 in the recently renovated conference hall at the Pousada de Mong-Ha and gathered more than sixty scholars coming from the various countries of Europe, USA, and South America, and including a good number from China, Macau and Hong Kong. Most of the speakers spoke of the cultural, spiritual and historical turmoil of Wu Li's life, which overlapped the dramatic decline and fall of the Ming Dynasty and the rise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Presentations revealed how Chinese intellectuals of the day found the teaching of the learned Jesuit missionaries especially appealing and how, for some literati converts, their embrace of Christianity was a step toward fulfilling an inner itinerary or religious quest. They saw in Christian teaching a chance to revitalize – morally and scientifically – their country which was in crisis. A general consensus, however, was reached on the exceptionally important value of Wu Li's personal experience as a man of rare qualities: a fine Chinese intellectual, a remarkable artist, a distinguish Christian poet, Jesuit priest and missionary totally devoted to his flock.

Exhibition of Paintings

The presence of so many qualified scholars and artists was also the occasion for the inauguration of an important exhibition: “Paintings and Inner Journeys: Seven Contemporary Artists.” Five of them were from Macao – Konstantin Bessmertny, Aser But, Carlos Marreiros, Mio Pang-Fei and Ung Vai Meng – and the other two from Mainland China, Li Jinyuan from Chengdu and Wang Lu from Shanghai. The exhibition of some forty works was organized by the Macau Ricci Institute and held at the Temporary Exhibition Gallery of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau of Macao S.A.R. Government, which had also co-sponsored the event. For the occasion, a catalogue of the exhibition was produced which included a foreword written by Luís Sequeira, S.J., Director of the Institute, and an introduction by Dr. César Guillén-Nuñez, research fellow of the Institute, who served also as the exhibition curator.

“Poetry on Macau” Book Launch

At the end of the morning session devoted to Wu Li's poetry and his stay at the College St Paul in Macao, was held the public launch of a study in four volumes of Chinese poetry entitled “Poetry on Macao: Notes and Commentaries,” prepared by Professor Zhang Wenqin of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. The editorial work had been supervised by Mr. Wong Io Fong, chief editor of the Chinese version of the Revista de Cultura, and jointly produced by the Cultural Institute of the Macao S.A.R. Government and a publishing house in Zhuhai . Copies of the complete set have been offered for free to the symposium audience, invited also to a luncheon sponsored by the Instituto Cultural de Macau.

Macau City Tour

Finally, at the end of the three day symposium, and to complete the experience, a sightseeing tour of Macau's historical places was organized for the participants.

Next Symposium 2004

Next year's symposium will be held on November 24-26 and sponsored jointly by the Macau Ricci Institute and the Instituto Português do Oriente. The theme will be “Culture, Law and Order: Chinese and Western Traditions.” The central question will focus on value systems, law and order in contemporary China, as well as on the relationship between culture and law and the implementation of the Western concept of “rule of law” into the rules and traditions of the Chinese society.

MRI Academic Activities

MRI Forum

The Macau Ricci Institute started to organize a series of small gatherings called the “MRI Forums.” MRI Forum is meant to be a monthly seminar focused on Greater China related topics. The inaugural forum was held on November 20 th at the Macau Ricci Institute Reference and Reading Room and was devoted to the theme of “Reintegration with Mainland China: The Contrasting Experiences of Hong Kong and Macau.” Our distinguish speaker was Professor Ming K. Chan, from Stanford University in the USA, who is an author of numerous academic publications, articles and book chapters on Chinese history and China-Hong Kong relations. He is also the general editor of Hong Kong Becoming China , a multi-volume series published by M.E. Sharpe, New York, and Hong Kong University Press. The first MRI Forum was chaired by Luís Sequeira, director of MRI, and Eric Sautedé, chief editor of Chinese Cross Currents. The event was followed by a cocktail party in the institute's courtyard. The conference of Professor Chan gathered some fifty people of various background, working in Macau or Hong Kong in different academic and governmental institutions.

Participation of MRI research fellows in Conferences and Seminars

Two research fellows of MRI presented papers during last Symposium on Wu Li: Dr. César Guillén-Nuñez spoke on “Science and Art: the College and Church of Madre de Deus at the Time of Wu Li,” and Dr. Tereza Sena, our new research fellow, contributed to the symposium by her presentation entitled “Macau at the Time of Wu Li – Some Reflections on His Poetry.”

Research and Publication Projects of the Institute

The Macau Research Database Center (MRDC)

Dr. Tereza Sena involves herself in the study and research of Macau's role as a historical mediator for cultural encounter between East and West. This intermediary function resulted in a cosmopolitan city having, thanks to a diverse and multicultural community living amidst a rich historical heritage, some unique identity. Until now, there has been only a limited effort to gather together an abundant collection of primary source materials and to focus on some international scholarly cooperation for a better understanding of Macau's history as a crossroads between cultures. Through the MRDC project, Dr. Sena and the Macau Ricci Institute aim to collect, organize and make accessible to scholars, locally and abroad, as much as possible of the source material pertaining to Macau in order to further open the history of the place as a field of study and publication.

Valignano's Del Principio Project

Antoni J. Üçerler, S.J., associate member of the Institute, has undertaken the ambitious project to publish for the first time a critical XML edition on CD-ROM of the entire text ( ca. 120.000 words / 140 ms folios) of Valignano's major work: “ On the Beginnings and Progress of the Christian Religion in Japan […].” Compiled in Nagasaki in 1601 and revised in Macao in 1603 by Valignano himself, this crucial document has never been edited or published in any form except for brief excerpts.

Chinese Buddhist Communities Project

With a view toward publishing a “Guide to the Buddhist Temples in Mainland China,” and in order to foster interreligious dialogue with the Chinese Buddhist Communities, Christian Cochini, S.J. recently spent six weeks in Shanghai and in the two neighboring provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, visiting 32 key Buddhist temples of the Han nationality. He received everywhere a very warm welcome from the monks and nuns, who provided him with first hand information on their temples. This was also, and above all, a unique opportunity to engage in a friendly dialogue with them, paving the way for further encounters. The publication of a first guide for these 32 temples and communities will serve as a prototype to hopefully get the financial support needed to make a complete guide for the Buddhist Chinese temples in the 23 provinces.

Art Exhibition

The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau and the Cultural Institute, both of the Macao S.A.R. Government, and the Macau Ricci Institute have co-sponsored an exhibition entitled “Religious Art of the Society of Jesus.” The exhibition was held from June 20 to August 31 in the Casa Museum in Taipa, Macau. The necessary expertise, the presentation and the preface to the catalogue have been provided by Dr. César Guillén-Nuñez, Research Fellow of the Institute.

Forthcoming MRI Publications

Macau Ricci Institute Studies

The second volume of MRI Studies series entitled Religion and Culture: Past Approaches, Present Globalization, Future Challenges is expected to be published by April 2004.

神州交流 Chinese Cross Currents

Yves Camus, S.J. Director and Eric Sautedé, Chief Editor, announce the official launching of the inaugural issue of 神州交流 Shen zhou jiao liu – Chinese Cross Currents, on January 20, 2004. The new publication is a bilingual, Chinese-English, quarterly. The theme of the first special dossier is 宗教与文化 “Culture and Religion.” In this first issue, readers will find over 180 pages of articles focused on Christianity, religion and culture in contemporary Chinese society. The articles are written by both Chinese and Western scholars and the periodical includes features and book reviews as well. The second issue will be published in April, with a special dossier on 文学与社会 “Literature and Society.” In July the selected theme will be 文化，藝術，社會 “Culture, Art, Society” and in October, to coincide with the 2004 Symposium, 文化，法律與秩序 “Culture, Law and Order.”

Interviews to Newspapers & Articles

On May 23 a Portuguese language newspaper Hoje Macau on its Cultural page published an article written by Carlos Morais José and entitled: “O caminho da profundidade - Instituto Ricci edita livros et prepara nova revista.” In another article, Luís Sequeira, S.J., director of MRI, gave an interview to the local Chinese Newspaper Macau Daily News on his efforts to foster East-West cultural exchanges, and published on June 28 . On November 21 a Portuguese Catholic magazine O Clarim, published also another interview with Luís Sequeira, under the title “Instituto Ricci de Macau – Aproximar culturas é objectivo primordial. Cultura e união.” Yves Camus, S.J., Associate Director of MRI, on September 6 was interviewed by Catherine Touzard, journalist from the French magazine L'Expansion.

Articles on Recent Symposium

Two articles about the recent symposium were published in the Macau Daily News on November 30. They are 吳歷心路國際研討會閉幕 and 中大歷史系教授章文欽箋注 « 澳門詩詞箋注 » 昨首發 . Two other articles, written by Gianni Criveller, were also published. The first, on December 13 and entitled “ Wu Li: Painter, Poet and Jesuit in the Church of the Early Qing ,” was published on the Internet by PIME run AsiaNews, at www.asianews.it , in English, Chinese and Italian languages; the second, entitled “Symposium on Wu Li: Painter, Poet and Jesuit of the Early Qing Dynasty,” was published in Hong Kong by the Sunday Examiner dated December 14.

Visitors to MRI

On September 20 , a group of French academics from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne came to the Institute for a visit. The group was headed by Prof. Yves Daudet, first Vice-President of the university, and included Dr. Leïla Choukroune, ATER in International Law, in charge of the relations between the university and Asia, and Dr. Michel Eltchaninoff, Professor of Philosophy, in charge of the university's international relations.

On October 7, Admiral Luis Mota e Silva, President of the Macau Scientific and Cultural Center, visited the Institute, as did also, on October 9, Professor Manuel Braga da Cruz, Rector of the Catholic University of Portugal. October 29 brought Fr. Jean Charbonnier, M.E.P., director of the office Relais France-Chine in Paris, to the Institute and November 14, Professor Ruben de Freitas Cabral, Rector of the Instituto Inter-Universitário de Macau. On November 20, Jean-Philippe Béjà, Director of Research at CNRS, Paris, spent also some time at the Institute.