Through the study of the religious fact, many lessons can be extracted for civil life. This was realized by Chris Lowney, author of the bestseller Jesuit-style leadership (Granica, 2014). As far as we know, no one has written a book on how to be an entrepreneur following in the footsteps of the Society of Jesus, but perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea. One only has to look at the way in which the order expanded in the 16th century: its religious, following in the footsteps of Francis Xavier, soon reached the Far East. One of them, the Italian Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), was the most eminent figure in the cultural dialogue between Asia and Europe.
Ricci wanted to evangelize China, but first he had to overcome the traditional mistrust of its inhabitants towards everything foreign. To earn their trust, the Jesuit became one of them: he adopted their way of dressing, got used to a diet based on rice and not bread, and even got used to sleeping differently, lying on tables covered with mats. above. Meanwhile, he made friends among the Chinese elite and thoroughly studied the country's language and culture. He went on to become a highly respected figure, known among his hosts as the "master of the Far West."
From this effort to understand a world very different from his own, Description of China (Trotta, 2023) emerged, one of the most important works for the knowledge of the oriental colossus. The author intends to correct previous works by writers who spoke of hearsay. On the contrary, he offers the experience of a long stay in the field in which he has accumulated copious information.
It presents a multitude of interesting data, but its greatest merit is its point of view: it speaks from within, always based on a great effort to be objective and reflect both the defects and the virtues of a nation that, in fact, became its new homeland.
A description about “China”. But is this the term with which the Chinese referred to their country? Absolutely. According to Ricci, it is a name that the Portuguese spread. The native population did not know anything about this name or others, such as the "Catay" used by Marco Polo. His was the “Middle Kingdom”. His state, in his eyes, was the center of the world.
We find, to begin with, a detailed description of everything that China produced, which dazzled the Italian Jesuit for the variety of its economy: "One could say what all writers say about it, namely that it is very prosperous in all things necessary for sustenance, clothing, cultivation and also human habit”. Among all this range of products, Ricci especially praises porcelain, “the cleanest and most beautiful thing in the world”.
However, compared to Europe, some things do not convince him. He does not believe, for example, that the wine reaches the same quality. He also criticizes that the horses are not shod, a circumstance that prevents them from maintaining their balance when trotting on the stone paths.
He pays attention, at the same time, to the different uses of saltpeter. While the Europeans use it to make gunpowder for war, the Chinese prefer to use it in fireworks, for which they have a real passion. As much as Ricci suggests? It is difficult to take him literally when he states that, on the occasion of the new year, the Chinese "spent more on saltpeter and gunpowder than would be spent between us for a continuous war of two or three years."
Regarding the form of government, the imperial regime does not appear as a fearsome autocracy, but as a system that, in practice, has more of a republic than a monarchy. Philosophers, on a day-to-day basis, give sovereigns the orientation to follow. The emperor dedicates himself, above all, to confirming what his magistrates propose to him.
Meanwhile, citizens enjoy considerable public security, because it is highly frowned upon for anyone to be armed: "This is the reason why there are no factions or riots in China, as there are among us to avenge injuries with weapons and murders, but whoever flees from another who wants to hurt him is considered more honorable”.
The system, said the Jesuit, worked: the Chinese had materialized Plato's Republic, while the Europeans dismissed it as utopian. Ricci thought that, in reality, the Greek philosopher could not be compared with what had been achieved in East Asia: "It seems to me that Plato did not know how to put speculation about the republic as much as China put into discussion."
Due to the magnitude of his intellectual contribution, Ricci has been considered the first modern sinologist. It was not surprising that, in such a Eurocentric starting environment, someone suggested that people of another race and culture could do some things, such as till the land, better than the inhabitants of the Old Continent.
Instead of trying to bring the Gospel mixed with the thought of the West, he chose to become Chinese among the Chinese and initiate a cultural approach that, due to its audacity, was not always well understood in Europe. He's not even in the ranks of the Church.
