PORTUGUESE SETTLEMENT IN MACAO AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN CHINA AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD

[INTRODUCTION]

Portuguese voyagers first came to Asia at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Their penetration into China marked the beginning of cultural exchange between China and the Western World. In 1535, Macao was opened up as a trading port and in 1553 Portuguese traders entered Macao, built houses and took up residence there. During several hundred years subsequent to this, Macao became an important point of concentration for cultural exchange between China and the West. The flood of Western culture which inundated China through the 'channel of Macao' can be divided into three categories: religion, technology, and arts and culture.

§1. RELIGION

1.1. THE EARLY DISSEMINATION OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA

Missionaries were the first group of Westerners to promote Western culture in China in modern times. Christianity was the first contribution Western civilization made to China. Prior to this, Christianity had been brought to China on two occasions, once during the Tang• dynasty and once during the Yuan• dynasty. During the reign of Tang Taizong• Emperor, a Syrian branch of Christianity known as Daqin• Nestorianism reached China. A Nestorian monument survives in the ancient Tang city of Xi'an. • Proof of this are the various Nestorian doctrinal texts translated by Tang dynasty which Nestorian believers have discovered in the stone ramparts of Dunhuang• in Gansu• province. During the reign of the Tang dynasty Wuzong• Emperor (r.841-†846) Nestorianism was completely outlawed. It was introduced again in the Yuan dynasty and thrived for a time. A succession of missionaries reached China, among them Giovanni da Montecorvino, Br. Andrew of Perugia and Odorico de Pordenone. Following the lead given by the empress, princesses, princes, generals and sons-in-law of the imperial household who had all joined the church, the emperor too was converted. But when the Yuan dynasty fell and the Ming replaced it, Nestorianism promptly vanished without trace. Christianity had failed to gain a foothold in China. Besides their religious activities, these missionaries were not responsible for any remarkable cultural or political undertakings.

At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Christian Church in Europe was undergoing the Lutheran revolution, after which the Faith was split into. The old style Church was Roman Catholic, while the new Church was Protestant (i. e., Lutheran).

Christianity was first preached in China at the beginning of the sixteenth century, but the new faith did not arrive in China until the early nineteenth century. Nevertheless, both brands of Christianity used Macao as their central base. During the three hundred years which immediately preceded the Opium Wars, Macao was the hub from which both trade between Western countries and China and the spread of Catholicism emanated.

Once the Portuguese had established a presence in Asia, king Dom João III of Portugal asked pope John III in 1540 to dispatch Catholic missionaries to China. In 1541 the pope sent a Jesuit priest Francisco Xavier to the Far East to do missionary work. In October 1552 he arrived at the island of Sangchuan• off Taishan· county in Guangdong· province but died of a fatal illness before he had a chance to start any missionary activity. 1 By approximately 1553 or 1554 when there were Portuguese residents in Macao, Catholic missionaries activities had already been established. 2 In 1576 the Pope issued a Decree ordering a parish to be established in Macao which would be responsible for the missionary activities in China, Japan and the neighbouring regions. 3This parish was administered by Portuguese. In this way Macao had already become the centre for the Catholic mission in the Far East.

When Catholic missionaries preached in China, they concentrated their efforts on expanding into China. On the 17th of June 1583, the Bishop of Manila sent a Memorial to the king of Spain and Portugal, in which he wrote:

"Spain and Portugal are already in Your Majesty's possessions. It is also necessary to include the whole of India in your Majesty's territory. [...] In my humble opinion, might I be so bold as to request that Your Majesty dispatch a large number of troops into China to increase our strength there. The objective is not to cause casualities amongst the Chinese troops. This army is free to enter China and has the right to pass through any province. Besides being an efficient way in itself of administering the towns, the troops could also serve to guarantee the security of mission estates and the freedom to carry out missionary work. Neither the Imperial Court nor the local officials would ever dare even consider stopping the missionaries. [...] If the Chinese Emperor was unduly stubborn and deliberately prevented missionaries from working, then military force could be used to take away his authority to run the country. I entreat Your Majesty to put aside all other business and to concentrate on the execution of this grand project, [...] neither of the great emperor Caesar or Alexander were ever faced with a golden opportunity such as this."4

In 1580 Spain and Portugal merged into one real and the king of Spain became the monarch of Portugal also. The power of this amalgamation of nations increased correspondingly, but was still no match to China's strength. The above quotation from the Bishop of Manila is nonetheless an indication of the attitudes of missionaries at the time. In the words of the renowned missionary Matteo Ricci: "We Jesuits act in accordance with the aims of the Society of Jesus. We will scale mountains and cross the oceans [...] in our work as Jesus' courageous soldiers we will do battle in his name. We come to conquer this nation of idol-worshippers."5

To gain victory in the spiritual fight for China, to 'bring China back to Jesus', a group of missionaries led by Matteo Ricci formulated a missionary campaign for China.

Fist of all, they decided to adopt the Chinese ways and customs and to become more Chinese to further their missionary work. In 1582 Matteo Ricci in Michele Ruggieri went from Macao to Zaoqing· on an official visit to the Governor of Guangdong [and Guangxi] to present precious objects as gifts such as a striking clock and a prism. They requested permission to establish residence and do missionary work in Zhaoqing. They said they were willing to be Chinese subjects and would sever all connections with their native countries. After this, the missionaries became foreign monks: they wore Buddhist robes and shaved their heads and grew beards. In Zhaoqing they built the first church in China: Xianhua· mission. Later, Matteo Ricci and the other missionaries came to realize that Confucian scholars were accorded higher status than Buddhist monks, so they abandoned the Buddhist garb and wore the clothes of the Confucian scholars to give them the appearance of intellectuals.

The area covered by Matteo Ricci's missionary activities gradually expanded. In April 1589 he went to work at Shaozhou• in Guangdong. He subsequently went to Nanxiong· Nanchang· in Jiangxi· province and to Nanjing· and Suzhou· in Jiangsu· province. Matteo Ricci finally resolved to go to Beijing. · His intentions had the support of the Portuguese in Macao, who met his expenses and provided him with tributes to present to the Emperor, which were transported to Nanjing by the Swiss missionary Lazzaro Cattaneo where they were handed over to Matteo Ricci. In 1600 Ricci headed north from Nanjing accompanied by the Spanish missionary Diego de Pantoja. They arrived in Beijing in 1601. Matteo Ricci was presented by the court eunuchs to the Wanli Emperor, to whom he presented the gifts, which were listed as "[...] one statue of Christ, one statue of the Holy Virgin, one Bible, two chiming clocks (one large and one small), a keyboard instrument and a map of the world." The Wanli Emperor "[...] granted him an official Imperial position [...]" and he remained in Beijing.

At this time, Matteo Ricci and other missionaries adopted a policy in their missionary work of respecting and adhering to the tenements of Confucianism. In Beijing and Nanjing and other places they became acquainted with high-ranking officials and lords, among the Xu Guanqi, · and scholars from the Imperial Academy. Once people such as these had converted to Catholicism, the ramifications at all levels within the realms of he literati and officialdom were considerable. They employed various methods to promote Catholicism. They even had storytelling folk artists perform Catholic stories in order to publicize the Catholic Faith in the lowest strata of society. Matteo Ricci, who in fact came to be known in scholarly and official circles as"[...] the Confucian wind drifting through the air, [...]" did an enormous amount of work furthering and promoting Confucianism. His book Tianzu shiyi·(The True Doctrine of the Lord of Heaven) makes ingenious use of the precepts of Confucianism to expound Catholic doctrine. In this work he writes: "Our God is identical to the Jehovah of the Old Testament." He uses three different Chinese words "tianzhu ", · "shangdi" · and "tian " • which can be translated as "God". He explains the crucial Confucian concept of "ren" · or "benevolence": "Benevolence means to love God and your fellow Man." He singles out lines from Lunyu· (The Anaclets) of Confucius such as: "[...] do not bear your own grievances out on others, [...]" or from the Confucian text Zhongyong· (The Doctrine of the Mean): "Keep your grievances to yourself; do not impose them on others [...]" and juxtaposes them with similar lines from The Bible. His method of disseminating "[...] not to discard the old framework and the culture associated with it, but to introduce some new spiritual element into it. 6 In order to remain respectful to and consistent with Confucian doctrine, he modified the Catholic teaching which forbids the worship of any idols other than the Catholic God to allow Chinese believers to continue Buddhist practices such as offering sacrifices, worshipping ancestors and other rituals. Ricci and other preachers used their Western knowledge of science to seek the good favour of the Chinese feudal bureaucracy, scholars and officials as a means of advancing their missionary work. Chinese Confucian scholars were full of admiration for their scientific knowledge and were prepared to accept that they favoured Confucianism. They were taken in by the missionaries show of mingling with Confucian scholars. One after another they were converted to Catholicism and were recruited to help them spread Catholicism in China. As a result, for about a hundred years at the end of the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the Qing, the activities of Catholic missionaries who were based in Macao flourished. Matteo Ricci was the leader of the China Church in the areas of Macao which were under Portuguese control. All affairs relating to missionary work were conducted under the leadership of this singly highly successful innovator, Churches were established in Zhaoqing, Shaozhou, Nanxiong, Nanchang, Nanjing and Beijing. Missionaries guided by Ricci, including Lazzaro Cattaneo, João da Rocha, Diego de Pantoja, Sabatino de Ursis, Niccòlo Longobardi, Manuel Dias (the Older) and Johann Adam Schall von Bell were all prominent figures in early missions in China. According to Yang Guangxian, · who wanted Jesuits to be put to death, at the beginning of the Qing dynasty there were thirty churches in cities and towns across China, and that in Macao, the Catholic headquarters, the number of believers was "[...] in excess of ten thousand." The number of Catholic believers in the whole country was approximately fifteen thousand.

1.2. THE THWARTING OF CATHOLIC MISSIONARY ACTIVITY

As part of their proletising process, the Jesuit missionaries not only employed scientific and cultural means to establish connections with the Chinese intelligentsia; they also actively participated in Chinese political life to penetrate the ranks of influential officials. In 1636, the missionary Johann Adam Schall von Bell set up a gun foundry inside the Imperial Palace in Beijing, where he manufactured ten cannons for the Ming court. He was duly awarded the commendation of Imperial Honoured Scholar by the Chongzhen· Emperor in person. Johann Schall also participated in the suppression of the peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng. · He built and maintained guns for the army under the command of Li Jiantai. · After the accession of the Ming dynasty, he carried the favour of the new masters and was granted the title of Expert Teacher. Because he had a hand in China's political struggles and had become involved in the traditional workings of China's society, anti-missionary feeling in China grew more and more vociferous until Catholicism was prohibited altogether.

Earlier, when Catholic missionaries had just begun to be active in China, one group within the Ming dynasty ruling élite stood out in opposition to supporters of Catholicism, such as Xu Guanqi and Li Zhizhao. · In the opinion of people such as Xu and Li, Catholicism was the same as Confucianism: both were "[...] the teaching of men of wisdom and virtue, both cultivate moral character in spirituality and adhere to ideals, [...]"7 and this was why they were in favour of its propagation in China. Figures such as Shen Que, · on the other hand, pointed out that while Catholicism had the external appearance of a religion, it harboured malicious intentions to invade China and should be expressly prohibited. In response to the resolute recommendations of Shen Que, Yan Wenhui, · Yu Maozhuan·and Xu Ruke, · in 1616 (Wanli· reign, year 44), passed a Decree banning the Catholic religion. The missionaries from Fengcha· Church in Nanjing· were banished from the country. This incident dealt a severe blow to Catholic missionary activity in China. However, the Jesuits did not give up hope; they withdrew from their various locations back to Macao to think up a new plan of action. Before long, missionaries disguised themselves and assumed different names to sneak into China and continue their missionary activities in secret. The prohibition was subsequently lifted and Catholicism began to grow once more. The Qing government adopted a tolerant stance in its policies relating to Christianity. The Kangxi• Emperor promoted certain priests to elevated positions, but later on there was a "[...] battle of religions [...]" which led to the curtailment of missionary work once again.

Catholic doctrine prohibits its adherents from worshipping any idols other than God. The Chinese people's tradition of offering sacrifices to honour their ancestors and on revering Confucius is in contravention of Catholic teaching. Early Christian missionaries such as Matteo Ricci realized that if they were to enforce this point in their teaching, their alliance with Confucianists would crumble, to the ultimate detriment of their mission. For this reason, they allowed Chinese believers to carry out rituals and worship their ancestors in order to give their missionary work a chance of success. But despite this clear-thinking pragmatism, Ricci was reproached within the Jesuit community. Some people disagreed with the concessions he had made to Confucianism. After Ricci's death, one of his opponents wrote an article which sparked off a contentious dispute [known as the Chinese Rites Controversy] with those who had supported Ricci which lasted almost one hundred years. This Controversy became particularly heated during the three or so decades from 1669 to 1703. Preachers who had supported Ricci's approach were criticized and censured and asked the Kangxi Emperor to make known is opinion on the matter. The Emperor offered an unequivocal response: "The God worshipped in China is the human veneration of the upbringing received from ones parents. Like a tiny infant, a person must grieve for many days when his mother dies to mourn the loss [...]. Moreover, people are spiritually no different from any other object, quite natural on the inside and in external appearance. In respecting Confucius, people in their various ways follow a common path in the grand human hierarchy of monarch, subjects, mother and father. Teaching is handed down from generation to generation. Relatives join the greater hierarchy as ancestors when they die. With all respectful greetings." On the matter of worshipping Heaven, Chinese do not view "[...] Heaven as an object." Westerners object to worshipping Heaven on the grounds that it is "[...] incompatible with astronomy and flies in the face of science. (On the other hand, Westerners worship of God flies in the face of science). If you are familiar with the principles in the Chinese classics, then these also will invoke the rage of the Westerner. Not only do you not know astronomy, but you are also completely illiterate. How can you make light of the truth of Chinese concepts? If one submits a Memorial to the Emperor to express gratitude for his kindness, one must address the Emperor as Your Majesty. Also if one goes to the Imperial residence, one must always bow and show respect. One must keep a respectful heart and follow the example of everyone else. How could one be as neglectful to view His Majesty in the same way as His Majesty the Emperor's chair, an object made by a carpenter? This is what worshipping Heaven means in China too. To call the Heaven the God is no stranger than to wish the Emperor a long life of ten thousand years. Although that may be strange it is at least respectful."8

When the Vatican came to hear of the conflict of religious interests in China, Pope Clement XI refused to make any concessions. He intervened directly in this affair, which was internal to China, and on the 20th of November 1704 issued a Bule [Cum Deus Optimum] which forbade Chinese believers to obey Chinese official Decrees and customs and make sacrifices or offerings to their ancestors or pay their respects to Confucius. The following year, on the 4th of December 1705, he sent an envoy Charles de Tournon to Beijing to ask the Kangxi Emperor to order Catholics to observe his dictum and to stop ancestor worship and Confucian offerings. The Emperor refused the envoy's requests and ordered him to be deported to Macao and to be imprisoned and sentenced to death. In December 1706 an Imperial Edict was issued to the effect that all missionaries who obeyed the Qing government ruling would be given a license to continue their activities, but that all offenders would be deported to their country of origin.

Pope Clement XI did not accept defeat easily. On the 19th of March 1715 he issued another Bule [ Ex Illa Die ] and in 1720 sent another envoy Jean Ambroise Mezzabarba to Beijing to request that the Kangxi Emperor prohibit Catholics from making sacrifices and worshipping their ancestors. Mezzabarba arrived in Beijing on the 25th of November and requested an audience with the Kangxi Emperor who received him and seventeen missionaries who where in Beijing. He made clear to them the Chinese government's solemn and unbending stance on this issue and instructed that the following remarks be added to the papal Bule which Mezzabarba had brought: "From reading this missive I can only wonder how insignificant Westerners are able to orate on Chinese reason. Moreover not one Westerner has corresponded with China to debate the issue. This is laughable. Actually presenting this missive to the Emperor now are Buddhist monks and Daoist priests; those other heretic religious men with their rash talk are completely different. From now on Western people will not be allowed to carry out missionary activities in China. Such activities are prohibited and the matter is closed."9

The Kangxi Emperor's inflexible attitude to the Pope's Bules reinforced the honour and independent sovereign state deserves. After the Kangxi Emperor's prohibition had been issued, Catholicism lost all the legal status it had in China, and Jean Ambroise Mezzabarba was deported. From that time on, the activities of Catholic missionaries were severely hampered.

After the Kangxi Emperor's death, the Yongzheng· Emperor also implemented policies which outlawed religion. He acted upon the suggestion made in a memorial by the Governor of Zhejian· and Fujian: · "If Westerners built Catholic churches and preach in every province, the people will become agitated. I ask that Westerners in all provinces be confined to Macao, except for travel; to the capital to present tributes. The churches should be converted into public buildings and any preachers who enter them should be dealt with severely."10 In this way, the activities of Catholic missionaries were restricted to within Macao.

During the reign of Qianlong Emperor, the prohibition of Catholicism was yet stricter. China passed repeated injunctions which dictated that missionaries in Macao were permitted to carry out religious activities only amongst foreigners, and were forbidden from preaching to Chinese residents in Macao.

In 1744, Yin Guangren, · Commissioner of Military and Civil Affairs for the Maritime Defense of the Government of Guangdong who regulated the affairs of foreigners resident in Macao, reported to the provincial government that... "[...] there are foreigners residents in all parts of Macao. Wrongdoers seek refuge in their religion and lawbreakers hide in their churches. A law should be passed to stop this. The governmental office for coastal defense should give directions such as any trader known to have done trade within the foreign compound in Macao is forbidden to enter Macao illicitly or to bring a wife and family to Macao. The county is ordered to set up an administration system which monitors individual households to provide close surveillance. Those who previously hid in Macao by belonging to the foreigners' Church are to be forced to return to their places of origin."11 The country government responded to Yin Guangren's report and issued a Decree prohibiting the Churches in Macao from attracting Chinese converts.

In 1746 it was discovered that the Portuguese had set up a 'Chinese Temple', which was a church run by Chinese Catholics with the specific aim of enlisting Chinese converts. The area it targeted was the Pearl river delta. Believers were drawn from the counties of Nanhai, · Fanyu, · Shunde, · Dongwan, · Xinhui· and Xiangshan· the join the 'Chinese Temple'. Throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties, Catholics assembled in church every year for the Catholic festivals of Easter and Christmas. These services were especially well-attended and popular. Following a report submitted by Zhang Rulin, · also a Commissioner of Military and Civil Affairs for the Maritime Defense of the Government of Guangdong, The Guangdong government decided: "Officials will be empowered to imprison these foreigners. If there are criminals who persist in daring to entice people from the inland areas, they will be immediately executed."12 The 'Chinese Temple' was closed down, dealing a severe blow to the Catholic Church's existence in Macao.

In 1749 there was an incident [in Macao] involving a [Chinese] murder. After the case had been investigated and cleared up, Xiangshan county issued public order regulations for Macao which reflected the consequences of the accident. A stone carved with the regulations was put up in Macao. Clause twelve of the regulations read: "It is forbidden to set up religious institutions or be engaged in religion. Foreigners in Macao who with religious beliefs may practice Christianism, but are not permitted to recruit Chinese people to convert for their faith or to threaten popular spirituality or traditions. Foreigners must be monitored and every residence checked. Chinese people may not become Catholics or participate in seasonal gatherings. Anyone who persists in practicing religion will be subject to the same surveillance as the foreigners and may be expelled from Macao."13

The Qing dynasty prohibition or religion remained in force until the time of the Opium Wars. Since the regulations went through successive periods of being strictness and tolerance, although overt missionary activity was forbidden, missionaries continued to operate in secret. According to records, in 1810 there were thirty-one European missionaries operating secretly in sixteen provinces, whose converts numbered two hundred and fifty five thousand. By 1839 the number of converted believers reached three hundred thousand. 14

1.3. PROTESTANT MISSIONARY ACTIVITY

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Protestant branch of the Christian Church started to send missionaries to work in China. The first of such people was the British missionary Robert Morrison. He was sent by the London Missionary Society and arrived in Guangzhou on the 7th of September 1807. His instruction from the London Missionary Society was to settle down in a suitable location, to teach English or mathematics, to study Chinese and compile a dictionary and to translate The Bible. There he was to find an opportunity to expand his missionary work. 15 It was not long before Robert Morrison discovered that there was no way he could do this work in Guangzhou, so in 1808 he went to live in Macao. At that time, Macao was the centre of the Catholic Church, so to avoid confrontation Morrison did not dare to publicize his missionary identity. He secured a job as translator of the British East India Company in order to have a lawful cover for his activities. Morrison worked hard for several years and succeeded in translating The New Testament in Chinese, which was published in Guangzhou in 1814. He went on to collaborate with others to produce a translation of The Old Testament which was published in 1819. The entire translation and publication of The Bible in Chinese enabled the Christian doctrine to be presented to Chinese people first-hand and unabridged. This feat is largely due to the efforts of Robert Morrison.

At the same time, from 1817 onwards, Morrison began to publish installments of the Huaying zidian· (Chinese-English Dictionary) he was editing. By 1823, the sixth and last installment was completed, and the whole work comprised four large volumes totaling 4,595 pages. The dictionary contained more than four thousand characters, with explanations in English, than the Kangxi zidian· (Kangxi Dictionary). It was a mammoth undertaking and contributed considerably to the flow of culture between Britain and China. Morrison's work was highly commended by king George IV. 16

Later, Morrison was appointed Deputy Consul. He was tremendously excited by this honour, and resolved "[...] to be loyal to [his] superiors in all the duties of [his] new post." But less than a month after he took up the job, due to overwork and over-exertion, he fell ill and died in Macao on the 1 st of August. In 1843 a stone tablet was placed at Morrison's grave in the Foreign Cemitery of Macao. The inscription on it read:

"The immortal souls in heaven are responsible for immortal words and deeds."

Robert Morrison of England was one such immortal man. When he came to China, he studied with rigour and became expertly proficient in Chinese language and writing. Before concluding his studies, he used he had acquired to produce a Chinese-English dictionary, which may be of help to all future scholars of Chinese and lighten their workload. Therefore English people may admire scholarship and tireless teaching and he will be praised as a virtuous and worthy Englishman. This stone is to express [...] friendship between all nations."17

Other Protestant missionaries followed in Morrison's footsteps and came to do work in China, among them Samuel Wells Williams. The work of these missionaries contributed towards cultural exchanges in the following years.

Firstly, the compilation and publication of the "China Repository", · which was to attack, fight and create public opinion. The monthly publication of the "China Repository", started in May 1832, was in circulation in Guangzhou and Macao until its demise in 1851. This English-language journal represented the point of view of British and American traders in China and gives a definite indication that it was the British Government's policy at the time to invade China. During the twenty years of its circulation, it published many research articles on topics in Chinese society, politics, economics, culture and traditions and China's relationship with the outside world.

Secondly, the opening of the mission school. Education was an important aspect of Protestant missionary work. Robert Morrison had started the Anglo-Chinese School in Malacca as early as 1818. Other missionaries subsequently opened schools in Guangzhou and Macao. After Morrison's death, the first Western style school was opened on the 4th of November 1839 -- The Morrison School in Macao. This Protestant School was responsible for educating a number of great talents.

§2. TECHNOLOGY

2.1. THE ARRIVAL OF WESTERN WEAPONS

Gunpowder was a Chinese invention. Mention is made of gunpowder in ancient documents from roughly the end of the Sui· dynasty and the beginning of the Tang. In their attempts to manufacture the elixir of eternal life, alchemists invented a number of flammable chemicals, saltpeter, phosphorus and charcoal, which are all ingredients in gunpowder. Later, gunpowder fell into the military hands and was used to attack cities and kill enemies. During the Southern Song·dynasty, armies were equipped with various types of artillery weapon, cannons, guns and muskets. While the manufacture of weapons within China developed during the Ming dynasty, firearms introduced from Portugal and other countries began to exert an influence.

At that time, China's name for 'Portugal' was 'Folangji•'. and so the guns used by the Portuguese came to be known as 'Folangji pipes', or 'Portuguese guns'. After the Portuguese started coming to Guangdong at the beginning of the sixteenth century, Portuguese rifles found their way into Fujian province.

According to Chen Shouqi's· account in Fujian tongzhi·(Fujian Records) in 1510 (Zhengde·reign, year 5), an official called Wei Sheng· from Xianyou· county in Fujian had to use soldiers to put down "[...] wandering robbers, [...] using more than one hundred Portuguese rifles."

In 1519 (Zhendge reign, year 14), there was a rebellion at Chen Hao,· and Wang Shouren,· who was responsible for suppressing it, also made use of Portuguese rifles. Details of this are found in Xu Guangqi ji·(The Collected Works of Xu Guangqi) : "When Lin Jiansu heard of the incident at Chen Hao, that evening he had people fashion tin into Portuguese guns and copied the method for making gunpowder, got gun-powder and sent me a letter to personally urging me to fight off the enemy. It was midsummer and fiercely hot. We travelled thirty li · [ten miles] a day and reached Chen Hao in seven days. I was later sent a letter of deep gratitude."

According to historical records, before the second decade of the sixteenth century, Portuguese ships were not yet to be found in the seas off the coast of Fujian. Because of this, the Portuguese rifles used and also manufactured by officials such as Wei Sheng and Lin Jiansu above were perhaps originally introduced by merchant seamen from Fujian who traded off the coast. There is also historical evidence that Portuguese rifles were brought into China through Guangdong.

According to Mingshi· (Ming History) that in 1523 (Jiajing· reign, year 3) a Portuguese fleet attacked Guangdong and was resisted by Chinese troops. The Chinese fought off the enemy and seized their cannon. This incident which initiated the influx of Portuguese rifles: "The army seized the rifles and called them 'Portuguese guns'. This was the autumn of Jiajing [reign] year 9 [1530], when Wang Shouren took up office. There are gun posts and turrets all along the frontier, so when the invaders came they were met with a devastating response, because we watched from the gun posts and the turrets had longrange weapons, so they can withstand any attack. We used the Portuguese guns the official had provided. The small guns weighed only twenty pounds and could fire six hundred paces. They were fired from the gun posts, with one at each gun post, operated by three men. The large ones weighed up to seventy pounds and had a range of six li [two miles]. They were fired from turrets, with three at each turret operated by ten men. There was a gun post every five li [1 1/2 miles] and a turret every ten, alternating big and small guns which fired long and short distances respectively. The enemy commander could not match this, with the result that there was success without suffering attack. This was how the Portuguese firearms were first used. 18

According to Tianxia jun'guo libing shu· (Benefits and Faults of Prefectorial China): "Thus it was that Wang Shouren recommended tat Portuguese guns be issued to the border garrison. Each guard on the barricade fired through narrow gaps in the rampart and in this way the enemy was driven off. These orders were given and executed at Wang's suggestion and in fact the frontier would not be as it is exist today if they had not been. However, Wang submitted a Memorial to the throne and was so earnestly and sickeningly obsequious that minister Wu Pu· laughed when he saw it. Wang was so enraged by this that was demoted to governor of Tongren. some people joked that he had been 'beaten back to Tongren by the Portuguese'."19

However, the claim in Mingshi that Portuguese rifles were introduced in 1523 (Jiajing reign, year 2) during an armed conflict between China and Portugal is not precisely true. If fact, Chinese people had already learned how to make rifles by the time the Portuguese reached Guangzhou in 1517. According to the recollections of Gu Yingxiang, · who was an official in Guangdong in 1517 (Zhengde reign, year 12) and was in charge of coastal defense, just as the Portuguese warships stormed into Guangzhou, their enemies greeted them with gunfire. He saw the power of the Portuguese rifles with his own eyes: "Because there were signs of pirates, the commander donated instruction for making gunpowder. This weapon was tested on the training ground and was effective at one hundred paces. It is good for use on ships. It can also be used to defend the city and to make military moves without deploying soldiers. 20

Because Gu Yingxiang was battling against pirates, the firearms and gunpowder he received from the Portuguese commander may be the first instance of Portuguese rifles being introduced in China. This predates the instance recorded in the Mingshi by six years.

Besides Wang Shouren and Gu Yingxiang, one other person who deserves to be mentioned for being instrumental in the adoption and spread of the Portuguese rifle is one He Ru. · The Shuyu zhouci lu· (Record of Weekly Expenses in Various Districts) gives a relatively detailed account of how he came to procure Portuguese rifles and manufacture gunpowder: "An inspector from Baisha· in Dongwan county called He Ru had gone to the Portuguese ships and seen Chinese people there such as Yang San and Dai Ming who had lived in their country for one year and learnt how ships were constructed, how to cast metal firearms and how to make gunpowder. He Ru was ordered to send people on a secret return visit with the purpose of purchasing liquor to have secret talks with Yang San and to shower him with gifts to please him. On a prearranged night, He Ru secretly sailed a small boat to meet the spies and took them back to the shore to extract information about the foreigners from them. He then had guns cast and gave them to his soldiers to fight with. With the help of these firearms they gained victory and seized twenty more guns and cannon."21

He Ru came from Ningdu· in Jiangsu province. He was in office as inspector and acquired rifles from the Portuguese in approximately 1521 or 1522. Ming shilu·(A History of Ming Dynasty Events) and Mingshi gonglu· (General Records of Ming History) both mention his feats: "China's posession of firearms began with He Ru."22 Because of his achievements and his knowledge of how to make Portuguese rifles, we was promoted to a post in Shangyuan· county and oversaw the manufacture of firearms for the Caojiang· government office.

The introduction of Portuguese rifles into China was followed by their manufacture in Guangdong and subsequently also in Nanjing. According to Xu wenxian tongkao· (Further Documentary Inspections): "In the fourth month of the third year of Jiajing's reign, Portuguese guns were made in Nanjing." The Nanjing garrison head Xu Pengxhue· had requested the technology and workmen for making rifles to be sent from Guangdong. The response from the military authorities was that there was no boat which could carry Portuguese guns and it would be necessary to go to Guangdong to fetch the craftsmen so they could be made in Nanjing, including He Ru, who was promoted to a post in Shangyuan county, which has jurisdiction over the Jianging area of Nanjing.

The spread of Western firearms in China was accelerated by the settlement of Portuguese residents in Macao. The missionary Matteo Ricci taught converts Xu Guangqi and Li Zhizhao of the power of Western firearms and of how they could be used for the purposes of national defense. Li Zhizhao later recalled that: "The minister inquired admiringly about their country's defense preparations, military expenditure and the famous towns and cities. To cause real damage, it is only necessary to fire cannon and rifles. They keep a few hundred riflemen and no more. 24 They were able to rely on this small number of troops to defend their cities. In 1618, Xu Guangqi was ordered to train troops to support the dynasty and attack the rebels. Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao and Yang Yanjun held discussions and decided to use Western firearms to fight with. In October 1620 Zhang Tao· and Sun Xueshi· went to Macao to buy weapons and to enlist soldiers to fire them. In order to win the favour of the Ming Court, the Portuguese in Macao offered substantial support and collected donations to raise funds for the purchase of four cannon. Four experienced gun-operators were selected and sent with the cannon to Guangzhou and then on to Jiangxi25 In 1621 Xu Guangqi decided to improve the caliber of the Ming army and once again sent Zhang Tao and Sun Xuezhi to Macao to recruit one hundred Portuguese mercenaries to acquire thirty cannon. But owing to vehement opposition from Shen Que, who was politically opposed to Xu Guangren's, the Ming government did not allow the Portuguese soldiers to enter the country. After continued efforts on the part of Xu Guangqi and others, the Ming government finally agreed to allow seven Portuguese gun-operators and four cannon into the capital. While the gunmen were teaching soldiers how to fire cannon, a cannon exploded on two occasions, fatally wounding both Portuguese trainers and Chinese soldiers. 26 These two incidents prompted the Ming government temporarily to suspend their programme of using Western style firearms, and in 1625 Xu Guangren was sacked. He was reinstated in 1629, and was once again responsible for organizing the promotion of the use of Western weapons. The Portuguese in Macao offered their support again and donated two cannon and one officer, Gonçalves Teixeira. The gun commander and gunsmiths traveled with the cannon to the capital, where the Chongzhen Emperor commended them as 'Gun Experts'. The Emperor intended to go on to enlist a further three hundred Portuguese from Macao. However, Portuguese availed themselves of this chance to put forward a number of requests, among them permission to build in Macao, the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Macao and exemption from ground rent in Macao. The Catholic Church in Macao also saw this as an opportunity to expand their missionary work inland. This gave the Ming government grounds for suspicion and those who opposed the suggestion to employ Portuguese military gained the upper hand in the debate. Eventually the plan to rely on the Portuguese to spread the use of Western weapons in China was abandoned. In 1631 Teixeira and his troops sought refuge in Dengzhou· (now Penglai·) near Beijing with inspector Kong Yuanhua. · Kong was a Catholic believer and an advocate of Western learning and he employed the Portuguese to train the Chinese troops. The following year Kong Youde· led a rebel army against Dengzhou and twelve Portuguese, Teixeira among them, were killed. After the Ming dynasty gave way to the Qing, the use of Western weapons continued to spread throughout China. Various Southern Ming lords used Western guns in their struggle with the Qing. The Qing rulers also employed Westerners to make weapons for them.

2.2. THE INTRODUCTION OF WESTERN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

After the establishment of the parish of Macao, a succession of Catholic priests was sent to do missionary work inland and to establish connections amongst officials and scholars at all levels. Matteo Ricci is reputed to have contacted one hundred and thirty seven Chinese officials and intellectuals. Some of these he visited more than once, such as the thinker Li Zhi, · the writer Yuan Hongdao, · the historians Jiao Hong· and Shen Defu, · the astronomers Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao and Sun Yuanhua, and the physician Wang Kentang. · In the course of this interaction with these people, the missionary deliberately showed off his knowledge of Western science, gave oral lectures, wrote books and translated a number of works which served to introduce the Chinese intelligentsia to modern Western science and technology. Once Chinese intellectuals had acquired this knowledge, they disseminated it within China. The effect this had on China was profound. The Western science in question here touches upon astronomy as a means of calculating calendars, geography, and medicine and technology, which of which is treated separately below:

2.2.1. ASTRONOMY AND CALENDARS

Chinese astronomy had a long history. Early almanacs include the Yuan dynasty Shoushi li· (Official Calendar) by Guo Shoujing· and the early Ming Datongli· (Great Calendar). However, the method by which these calendars was calculated involved guesswork and so they were not strictly accurate. Because of this, Ming scholars had made early plans to revise the calendar. The introduction of the modern Western calendar was this revision. In 1629, the Ming government set up a calendar revision commission, headed by Xu Guangqi and Li Zhizao. Xu and Li learned the Western method of calculating the calendar from Matteo Ricci and they invited missionaries to participate in the work of the commission. In 1634 the one hundred and thirty six volumes of the Chongzhen Period Calendar had been completed, known as the New Method Calendar. Later in 1645, during the Qing dynasty it was revised as the new Shixianli· (Statutory Calendar).These calendars used Western scientific methods of calculation, with explanations, diagrams, verifications, tables and theories, and were reasonably accurate. From then on, these calendars were the most widely used in China.

During the compilation of the new Shixianli, a number of works which expounded Western theories of astronomy and techniques of navigational geometry were introduced into China:

- Jihe yuanben,·translation of Matteo Ricci's teaching of Euclid's work [ Elementorum Libri - 6 volumes];

- Celiang yitong,·by Xu Guangqi;

- Celiang fayi,· (Principles of Measurement), by Matteo Ricci, translated by Xu Guangqi;

- Gankun tiyi,· (Epitome Arithmeticœ Praticœ), in two volumes, by Matteo Ricci, translated by Li Zhizao;

- Turong tiyi,· by Li Zhizao;

- Hungai tongxian tushuo · in two volumes, by Li Zhizao;

- Tongwen suanzhi,· in ten volumes, by Li Zhizao;

- Jianpingyi shuo,· by Sabatino de Ursis;

- Biaosu shuo,· by Sabatino de Ursis; and

- Tianwen lue· (Discussions About the Heavens), by Manuel Dias.

When the calendar commission was set up in 1629, Xu Guangqi proposed making Western astronomical and navigational instruments, including quadrants, sextants, theodolites, sundials, chronometers, telescopes and so-on.

At the same time as the Jesuits were introducing advanced Western astronomical science into China, more idealistic cosmologies were also prevalent, such as the concept, handed down from medieval Europe, of the Earth as the centre of the universe which was suspended by the discoveries of the famous astronomer Copernicus soon thereafter.

2.2.2. GEOGRAPHY

In 1583, while working as a missionary in Zhaoqing, Matteo Ricci compiled an assessment of contemporary geographical knowledge in Yudi shanhai quantu· (Complete Map of Land, Mountains and Seas) (also known as Shanhai yudi quantu· (Complete Map of Mountains, Seas and Land)), which he gave to Wang Pan, · he head of the Zhaoqing government. In 1584, Wang Pan had this map printed and published, and it became the first map of the world to appear in China. In a special effort to conform to Chinese thinking, when Matteo Ricci drew the map, he shifted China to the centre and placed Europe, Africa and the Americas at the sides. In 1598, Ricci began a new and influential edition of the Complete Map [...], which was completed and published in 1600. In 1600 Ricci also presented to the Wanli Emperor a revised edition containing fifty-three maps called Wan'guo tuzhi·(Maps of All the Countries), which was the first book of maps in China. Works by other missionaries about the new geographical knowledge included:

- Zhifang waiji· (Account of Countries Not Listed in the Records Office), in six volumes, by Diego de Pantoja and Giulio Aleni;

- Baxian Yishi,· by Lu Ciyun;·

- Xifang yaoji,· by Luigi Buglio, Gabriel de Magalhães and Ferdinand Verbiest; and

- Kunyu tuji· (Complete map of the Terrestrial Globe) by Ferdinand Verbiest.

The new geography introduced brand new Western scientific ideas: the new maps; the idea that the world was divided into the five continents of Europe, Africa, Asia the Americas and Antarctica; the idea that the Earth was one of a set of planets with rules governing their movement; the different geographical situation of separate countries; how to use a theodolite to calculate precise bearings and draw accurate maps. These ideas were completely new to Chinese intellectuals. During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, the government convened a team of specialist cartographers, including some Westerners, who used Western surveying methods to make the reasonably accurate Huangyuquanlantu·(Imperial Map), which took thirty seven years to accomplish.

2.2.3. MEDICINE

Every year, when the Portuguese in Macao collected the trading tax, they put five per cent aside for charitable causes. In May 1568, Dom Belchior Carneiro, the first Bishop of the Parish of Macao, opened a hospital in Macao. This was the first time Western medicine appeared in China. The bishop thought that opening a hospital might persuade people to view Catholicism as "[...] an institution which heals the sick and helps the poor, a source of music, safety and comfort, givers of prosperity and heath, [... which might inturn lead to a...] gradual increase [...]"27 in number of converts.

The first branch of medical science to reach China was anatomy: the Jesuit Giacomo Rho's book Renshen tushuo· (Pictorial Explanation of the Human Body) and Jean Terrenz's work Renshen shuogai· (Explanatory Introduction to the Human Body) were both anatomical treatises. During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, some priests from Europe with medical skills were appointed physicians to the Emperor and were employed at the Imperial Court. They were trusted completely, and on several occasions used Western treatments to cure Kangxi's ailments. On one occasion, Kangxi took quinine given to him by the Western doctors for malaria symptoms and made a full recovery. Quinine is one of the earliest medicines brought to China from the West.

2.2.4. TECHNOLOGY

Not only did the Portuguese in Macao bring Western "miracle objects" to China; they also demonstrated the principles underlying these objects and explained how they could be made. Books of the period which contained descriptions and explanations of various machines were Qiqi tushuo· (Illustrated Explanations of Miracle Objects) by Jean Terrenz, translated by Wang Zheng· and Yuanjing shuo· (The Telescope Explained) by Johan Adam Schall von Bell.

According to records in Guangdong xinyu·(New Sayings of Guangdong) and Aomen Jilue· (Monograph of Macao) at the time of the transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, "miracle objects" from the West included the clock on the clock tower adjacent to the facade of the church of São Paulo (St. Paul's) in Macao. The moon-shaped clock-face moved in relation to twelve numbers. There were also striking clocks, table-top clocks, musical clocks and mechanical pocket watches. The smallest ones were the size of silver coins and chimed a tune on the hour. Other instruments which measured time included the copper sundial, the lunar clock and the eggtimer.

There were various and indigenous types of knives and swords; the halberd with the curling short blade and the straight long blade, long swords, short swords and daggers.

Glass objects and optical instruments included: glass windows, glass lamps, glass lenses, full-length mirrors, telescopes, microscopes and magnifying glasses. Spectacles were first seen in Macao at the end of the Ming dynasty. A poem from the time about glasses reads: "In the West there is a wonderful instrument which makes dulled vision clear. It adds brightness and makes invisible things obvious."28

§3. ART AND CULTURE

3.1. ARCHITECTURE

The introduction of Western architecture into China began in Macao also. As a port open for trade with the outside world, inhabited by a mixed population of Chinese and foreign merchants, the residential buildings of Macao were also a highly complex mix of Chinese and Western styles. It was typical for Chinese to construct one-storey buildings on flat ground, while the Portuguese tended to built on hills. According to records from Xiangshan: "Because the land is high and sloping, the houses hang like beehives. This is how the foreigners in Macao live." One can imagine the scene. There were also Portuguese built houses described as: "The rooves are high as chinaberry trees, facing each other in compact rows." The most important styles of foreign buildings where the Roman Catholic churches, the residences were the priests lived and the tall houses inhabited by ordinary merchants.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the following churches were constructed in Macao:

1. Wangde• Church, situated in the south-eastern part of the town near Mafeng yuan • Chinese people call it 'Go Mad Temple', a pun of the name of the Chinese Temple. Wangde Church was the property of the bishop when the parish of Macao was established in 1576.

2. São Lourenço (St. Lawrence) Church, built ca 1575.

3. Santo António (St. Anthony's) Church, built ca 1565. Chinese people knew this church as Huawangmiao• This was where the Christians got married.

4. Santo Agostinho (St. Augustin) Church, built in 1589. Chinese people knew this church as Longsongmiao •

5. Santa Rosa (St. Rose's) Church, also called São Domingos (St. Dominic), built in 1587. Chinese people knew this church as Banzhangmiao •

6. São Paulo (St. Paul's) Church, built from 1572 to 1602. Chinese people knew this church as Sanbasi • and Dasanba • Situated on the north-east of Macao, this church was destroyed by fire on the 26th of January 1835.

These ancient churches, all dating from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, are all in the Baroque style [sic] which was prevalent in the Vatican, in Rome. St. Paul's Church in Macao is the archetype of Baroque architecture [in the Far East].

The word 'Baroque' comes from the Portuguese 'barroco', which originally meant 'extravagant' or 'irregular', used especially with reference to a pearl which surfaces blemishes. The characteristics of Baroque art are solemn nobility, imposing greatness, energetic vitality and dynamics. Attention is paid to the effects of lighting, expertly showing a strong emotional colour. These characteristics are rooted in the combination of the best 'classical' art with the religious [Catholic] concepts propagated during the Renaissance. Aomen Jilue only has a few unremarkable words to say on the subject of the churches mentioned above, with the exception of St. Paul's, which is described at length and in detail: "The main church is St. Paul's in the north-east of Macao. It is mountainous, standing several tens of feet high. Long, narrow doors open at the side. There are carved stone edges, glittering with gold and emeralds. The roof is like a covering curtain with magnificent steamers to the side. They worship the Mother of God, whose name is Mary. She looks like a young girl and is holding a baby, who is called Lord Jesus. Their clothes are not sewn, but are draped over the head and body, all with decorations painted on and protected by glass. It looks like a statue. At the sides are images of thirty or more people, holding orbs in their left hands and pointing with their right hands, as if recounting a narrative. Their facial expressions are shown with brows frowning in anger or raised in joy. Their ears and eyes are shown in detail, their eyes seem to be looking and their mouths speaking. Above there is a balcony where all sorts of musical instruments are stored. There is clock with a great bell underneath, with a striker which is moved by machinery and chimes the hour. There are about a hundred priests' rooms, all inhabited by foreign priests. 29

Since the building was destroyed by fire, no trace of its former splendour is visible today. All that remains is the grandly magnificent entrance façade of marble towering 27.0 metres high, 23.5 wide and 2.7 metres thick, at the top of a flight of seventy steps. These stones are the very crux of the exchange between the Chinese and Western cultures. The forty stone pillars of the foundations divide it into five sections, and on each section is a carved depiction of a scene from the Bible. Next to the image in the third section are maxims inscribed in Chinese: "Those who ponder death shall be free of sin"; "Holiness is eternal"; "The forces of darkness lead men into evil". On the left and right of the third and fourth sections are sculptures of traditional Chinese lions carved in an unusual and lifelike pose. In the fourth panel, on either side of a bronze statue of Christ are both Western lily and Chinese chrysanthemum patterns in relief sculpture. The observance of both Chinese and Western cultural themes makes the façade of St. Paul's or Dasanba, stand out as a memorial to the cultural interaction of China and the Western world.

Western buildings other than churches abound in Macao in the form of residential buildings. One feature of such buildings is that they are two or more storeys high with corridors, and square, openable windows. Arches are often seem above the doorways. The walls are painted or whitewashed in a way that seems quite decorative. In Aomen jilue, the Western style houses in Macao are described as follows: "Many of the houses are three storeys, towering like mountains. There are square ones, round ones, triangular ones and even octagonal ones, like so many fruits and blossoms. Their rooves are curved like snails shells and are magnificent in their ingenuity. The walls are supported by bricks or blocks, four or five feet thick, with openings bored through to the outer surface as ornamentation. The openings are as large as windows. Shutters open inwards with decorative mica flaps. The main doors all open sideways with simple domed arches above, set at the top of flights of ten or so steps. The owners live upstairs and the servants downstairs. Outside the door there is a garden which is usually open air with a door to close it off. There is a cellar underneath for storing goods."30

At the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing, Western missionaries began to move from Macao to work inland and built increasing numbers of Catholic churches wherever they went. This carried Western architectural styles from Macao inland and had a marked effect on architecture in China.

3.2. PAINTING

The first Western pictures to reach China in the Ming and Qing dynasties were religious ones brought by the Jesuits. During the reign of the Wanli Emperor, Michele Ruggieri arrived in Macao, bringing with him pictures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Later, when Matteo Ricci did missionary work inland, he gave religious paintings to people wherever he went. He went to the capital in 1600 and presented gifts to the Wanli Emperor, amongst them pictures of Christ and the Virgin. The following appreciation of the artistic techniques in these Western images was written at the time by Gu Qiyuan in his book Kezuo zhuiyu· (Casual Writings of the Visits of Guests) :"The picture is of God, a small child, and a woman who is called the Mother of God. The image is made of copper plate base with various colours smeared on it to give a lifelike appearance. It is just as if the body and arms are really concealing the copper. The relief of the facial features can be seen exactly like a living person's face. How can people paint in this way? The answer is that in Chinese art one paints the light but not the shadow, so no one sees exactly half of the face and the body with no contrast between the hollows and the protrusions. If Chinese pictures depicted the shadow as well as the light, then they would have proportion and the arms and hands would seem more plausible. Even when people are facing head on, they are in the light, so that if one side is facing the light, the hollows of the ears, eyes and mouth on the side which is not facing the light, are all in shadow. If Chinese painters use this method, they will be able to make their portraits look like real people."31

There was a great variety of other Western paintings. In Aomen Jilue it is written: "There are Western pictures. In St. Paul's there is a map of all the oceans, there are pictures on paper, on leather, on vellum, on various glass artifacts. The towers, palaces and people in them are visible from a distance of ten paces. You can see through doors and count the number of floors of all the houses. The people are even more lifelike. There are landscape paintings by French artists which are illustrated stories, and embroidered picture tapestries."32

The attention Western pictures paid to contrast between light and shadow, brightness and darkness, and their use of perspective were exceptional characteristics and influenced Ming and Qing painting. The section on art in Mingshi gao· (A Sketch of Ming History) records that artists such as Mang Hu, · Ding Yuntai, · Ding Yu, · Wu Li· and Jiao Bingzhen· "[...] all painted in the Western style." The book Shuda· (In Response to Art) by the missionary Francesco Sambiaso was the first book on art appreciation to appear in China.

3.3. MUSIC

Modern Western music also found its way to Macao together with religion. In Church music the most important instrument was the organ, which Chinese began to call 'wind music'. Qu Dajun's· Guangdong xinyu (New Sayings of Guangdong) contains a section which discusses the nature of the church organ: "Men and women go to the church in the morning and evening to worship and listen to the priest preaching. The church has an organ, which is hidden away in a case so that it cannot be seen. Inside it there are more than one hundred ivory tubes which move air bags when pushed to cause air to flow in and out. When the air is blown in, sound comes out of the case with melody and rhythm, like eight sounds at once."

There was also a type of musical instrument known by the Chinese as the 'metal-stringed instrument': "Buttons made of split bamboo make a clinking sound."33

Western music spread with missionary activities inland. Matteo Ricci presented the Wanli Emperor with a spinet and a book called Xiqin quyi· (Music for Western Keyboard) which contained eight songs. The missionary Diego de Pantoja trained a choir of Court officials to sing beautifully and sweetly, for which he received favourable comment.

The first book about Western musical theory was Lülü zhengwen xubian· (Sequel to the Book of Bamboo Pipes) compiled by Tomás Pereira and Teodoro Pedrini during the reign of Kangxi Emperor. This book explained the stave notation system in a clear and simple way and contained some instruction in singing and playing instruments.

3.4. LANGUAGE

Language was the medium in which the Chinese and Western cultures interacted. When Portuguese came to Chinese to trade, in order to overcome the language barrier they employed Chinese interpreters to assist in their trade negotiations. The priests who came to do missionary work could not rely on translators and were bound to learn Chinese to explain their religious doctrine. The first thing they did after arriving in Macao was make an effort to learn and read Chinese. As a part of this process, they often noted down the pronunciation of characters in Latin letters in the margin of Chinese texts as an aide-mémoire. A dictionary was gradually compiled. Between 1584 and 1588, Matteo Ricci and Michele Ruggieri worked on their Dizionario portuganese-cinese, of which the Chinese title was Pingchang wenda ciyi· (A Glossary of Common Questions and Answers). The book had one hundred and eighty nine pages and was never completed. In fact, it was nothing more than a Chinese conversation phrase book with pronunciation given in romanised letters. Matteo Ricci's Xizi qiji· (Miracle of Western Script) was printed in Beijing in 1605, another book of Chinese characters with their pronunciations given in romanised script. Ricci gave Cheng Youbo· four religious paintings, on which were written short texts with a total of three hundred and eighty seven Chinese characters, with pronunciation given in romanised letters next to each character. Research has shown that this transcription system used twenty-six initial consonants sounds, forty-three syllable finals, four semi-consonants and five tone symbols.

Nicolas Trigault's Xiru ermu zi· (Manual of Western and Chinese Knowledge), [three volumes] completed in 1625 is another guide to the pronunciation of Chinese characters with a transcription system in romanised letters. This work appeared twenty years after Ricci's and is more methodical in its approach. It not only contributed much to the West's understanding of Chinese characters but has also had lasting influence on the romanisation system for Chinese.

Trigault broke Chinese syllables down into twenty-nine component sounds. He defined three categories in his romanisation system: 34

1. Five syllable finals (vowels):

2. Twenty syllables initials (consonants):

3. Four silent (consonant not used in Chinese):

b d r z

There remain in addition fifty syllable rhymes

(dipthtongal and triphtongal):

Subsequent to the publication of this book translations of Chinese works into European languages contained more accurate pronunciations of Chinese words. The work caused a stir throughout China. This pleased Nicolas Trigault immensely, causing him to brag: "At the invitation of Chinese academic friends, I have compiled a Chinese dictionary in three volumes. It brings together the vowels and consonants of Chinese in my own tongue, in such a way that a Chinese person could learn Western script in three or four days. The method I employed in making this dictionary has rather inspired the wonder of Chinese people. They have seen with their own eyes how a foreigner has put right the faults in their writing system which have long needed attention, which is a feat which naturally deserves commendation. The book has even enticed those idolaters (namely Buddhists) into the net of the Catholic Church. A certain gentleman official Zhang Xiangda· spent money to have it printed and added a valuable Preface which improved the quality."35

Once Macao had been established as the Portuguese trading base, Portuguese was commonly used in Macao. The Chinese residents of Macao "[...] who lived in Macao for a long time deeply contaminated. They were accustomed to the language and gradually became like foreigners." The Chinese who learned the Portuguese language did so by using the transcription system method. At the end of Aomen Jilue is given a Vocabulary which amounts to a list of Portuguese words divided into five categories: Heaven and Earth, Men and Things, Clothing and Food, Implements and Numbers, and Commonly used Words. The list contains a total of three hundred and ninety five Portuguese words with pronunciation given in Chinese characters which must be read in Guangdongnese. A few examples are given below:

Heaven and earth

1	2	4	5	6
消吾	siu-ung	Céu		Sky
梭爐	só-lou	Sol		Sun
孖喇	má-lá	Mar		Sea
以里丫	i-lei-liu	Ilha《ilhéu》		Island
波打些蘆古	pó-tá sié-lou-ku	Porta(do)Cerco	《Porta do Cerco》	Barrier gate
事打的	si-tá-ti	Senado	《Cidade(Leal      Senado)》	City Council

Men and Things

1	2	4	5	6
燕罷喇多盧	in-pá-lá-tó-tou	Imperador		Emperor
爸	pá	Pai		Father
媽	má	Mãe		Mother
可微	o-mei	Homen		Man
個憲多盧	kó-uái-tó-lou	Governador		Governor
罵利也路	má-lei-iá-lou	Marinheiro		Sailor

Clothing and Food

1	2	4	5	6
些大機拿	sié-tá kei-na	Seda(da)China	《seda(queimão)》	Silk
亞路無沙	a-lou-mou-sá	Almoçar		Break-fast
尾虐	mei-iôk	Vinho		Wine
大孖古	tá-má-ku[sic]	Tobaco	Tabaco	Tobacco
亞榮	a-ueng	Afião	《afião(ópio)》	Opium
渣些故	tchá sié-ku	Cha seco	《chá seco(folha    de chá)》	Tea leaves

Commonly used Words

1	2	4	5	6
公巴喇	kông-pá-lá	Comprar		Buy
灣爹	uán-té	Vender		Sell
丁	teng	Tem		Have
農丁	nông-teng	Não tem		Not have
哩	lei[sic]	Ria	Rir	Laugh
麽利	mó-lei	Morrer		Die,dead

Implements and Numbers

1	2	4	5	6
變些立	pin-sié-láp      [sic]	Pincél	Pincel	Pencil
罷悲立	pa-pei-láp[sic]	Papél	Papel	Paper
化加	fá-ká	Faca		Knife
惡姑路	ók-ku-lou	Óculo		Eyeglass
列羅西吾	lit-lo-sâi-ung	Relógio		Striking clock
英巴家生	ieng-pá-ká-sâng	Embarcação		Boat

Lastly, mention should be made of one more important landmark in the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures. In 1614, Nicolas Trigault acquired a library of seven thousand books from Pope Paul V. On the 22nd of July 1620 he and his band of twenty two missionaries brought these books to Macao. Later, a portion of them was taken to Beijing and presented to the Emperor, where many of them were translated into Chinese by Western missionaries and Chinese believers, and published. This body of books made a significant contribution to the propagation of Western culture in China.

Broadly speaking, Macao has been a base for trade and a centre for cultural interaction between China and the rest of the world for several centuries. Western culture reached China through the channel of communication which Macao offered. This bestows Macao a historical importance which may not be easily disregarded.

Translated from the Chinese by: Justin Watkins

NOTES

Editor's note: The following listings are cross-referenced in the article(pp. 111-135) by C. R. Bawden's Vocabulary(pp. 117-132) in this same issue. English translations are given according to Bawden's terminology.

1. Transcribed Portuguese [Chinese characters]

2. Luís Gonzaga Gomes' correspondent Guangdongnese

4. Reconstructed Portuguese

5. Luís Gonzaga Gomos reconstructed Portuguese

6. C. R. Bawden's correspondent English

Editor's note: Titles are listed according to the author's manuscript and, whenever possible, given in full. Titles are not cross-referenced in the Select Bibliography due to the impossibility to ascertain the original language and complete references of some of the mentioned works. Titles provided in English between parenthesis are for reference purposes only. Entries in this text and Notes have been standartized in order to comply with those in the articles by Zhang Weiqin and C. R. Bawden and in this issue.

1 XU Zongyang 徐宗洋, zhongguo tianzhujiao shi gaizheng 《中國天主教史槪證》 (a General History of Catholic Missions in China), p. 169.

2 BÉRNARD-MAÎTRE, Henri, S. J., Aux Portes de la Chine: les Missionaires du Seizième Siècle, 1514-1588, Tientsin, Procuré de la Mission de Sienshien, 1933, p.59.

3 Ibidem., p. 158.

4 Ibidem., pp. 227-228

5 BÉRNARD-MAÎTRE, Henri, S. J., Le Père Mathieu Ricci et la société chinoise de son temps, 1552-1610, 2 vols., Tientsin, Hautes Études, 1937, vol.1, pp. 1-3.

6 BÉRNARD-MAÎTRE, Henri, S. J., 1933, op. cit., pp. 267-268.

7 XU Guangqi 徐光啓, Bian xueshu 《辨學疏》 (Distinguishing the Known and the Unfamiliar),in "Xu Guanqi ji" 《徐光啓集》 ("The Collected Works of Xu Guangqi"),vol. 9, [n. d.], p.431-(Wanli reign, year 44, month 5).

8 Kangxi yu Luoma shijie guanxi wenshu 《康煕與羅馬使節關係文書》 (Documents Relating to Kangxi and the Envoys from Rome), Taibei 臺北Gugong bowuguan 故宫博物館 (Imperial Palace Museum ed.), [n. d.], nos ll,13.

9 Ibidem., annotations following no 14 [sic].

10 Donghua lu 《東華錄》 (Eastern China Records) vol. 12, pp. 41-42.

11 ZHANG Rulin 張汝霖 - YIN Guangren 印光任 Aomen jilue 《澳門記略》 (Monograph of Macao),part. l, pp. 41-42 [See: TCHEONG-Ü-Lam [ZHANG Rulin] -IAN-Kuong-Iâm [YIN Guangren], GOMES, Luís Gonzaga, trans., Ou-Mun Kei-Leok: Monografia de Macau (Monograph of Macao),(Edição da Quinzena de Macau [...], Lisboa) Macau, [Leal Senado] Tipografia Martinho, 1979, p.148 [1 st edition: 2 vols., Macau, Imprensa Nacional, 1950]- For a Portuguese translation of this work fully annotated in Chinese].

12 Ibidem., part. 1, pp. 44-45.

13 "Chinese Repository", Canton, March 1833, p.444; "China Repository", November 1844, p.595.

14 Ibidem., November 1834, p.300.

15 MORRISON, Elisa, Memoirs of the life and labours of Robert Morrison D. D.,2 vols, London, 1839, vol. 1, pp. 95-97.

16 Ibidem., vol.2, pp. 254-255.

17 "Chinese Repository", Canton, February 1846, pp. 105-106.

18 Folangji zhuan 《佛郎機傅》 (Commentaries on the Portuguese),in "Mingshi" 《明史》 ("Ming History"), vol. 325 - This quotation is an extract from Wang Hong's "Memorial to the Emperor", of which the original is in Ming Jiajing shilu 《明嘉靖實錄》 (A Factual Record of the Ming Emperor Jiajing),vol. 117, xinmao, · (Jiajing reign, year 9, month 9).

19 GU Yanwu 顧炎武, Tianxia jun'guo libing shu 《天下郡國利病書》 (Benefits and faults of Prefectorial China),vol. 119, rubric: "One month in a series of discussions"-The reference is a quotation from YAN Congjian 嚴從簡, ed., Shuyu zhouzi lu 《殊域周咨錄》 (Record of Weekly Expenses in Various Districts),vol. 9, pp. 8-11, rubric: "Folangji".

20 HU Zongxian 胡宗憲, Chouhai tubian 《籌海圖編》 (Plans for Seagoing Preparations),vol. 13, rubric: "Weapons"

21 YAN Congjian 嚴從簡, ed., op. cit., vol. 9, p. 19, rubric:"Folangji".

22 CHEN Botao 陳伯陶, Dongwan Xianzhi 《東莞縣志》 (Dongwan County Records),vol. 50, p.12.

Xu wenxiao tongkao 《續文獻通考》 (Further Documentary Investigations),vol. 134, rubric: "Military Records", subdivision no 14: "Weapons".

24 LI Zhizao 李之藻, Wei zhisheng wuxu xichong qi le lianqu 《爲制勝務須西銃乞勒連取》 (The Need for Western Weapons to Gain Victory), in "Xu Wending Gong Ji"《徐文定公集》 ("Works of Xu Wending"), vol. 3.

25 WEI Te 魏特, Tang Ruowang zhuan 《湯若望傅》 (Biography of Johann Adam Schall von Bell), vol. 1, p.82.

26 Ibidem., vol.1, pp. 82-84.

27 BÉRNARD-MAÎTRE, Henri, S. J., 1933, op. cit., p.33.

28 QU Dajun 屈大均, Guangdong xinyu 《廣東新語》 (New Sayings og Guangdong),vol.2, p.9; YIN Guangren - ZHANG Rulin, op. cit., part. 2, p.33 [TCHEONG-Ü-Lam-IAN-Kuong-Iâm, GOMES, Luís Gonzaga, trans., op. cit., p.252].

29 Ibidem., part. 2, p.18 [TCHEONG-Ü-Lam - IAN-Kuong-Iâm, GOMES, Luís Gonzaga, trans., op. cit., p.215].

30 Ibidem., part. 2, p.16 [TCHEONG-Ü-Lam - IAN-Kuong-Iâm, GOMES, Luís Gonzaga, trans., op. cit., p.210].

31 GU Qiyuan 顧起元, Kezuo zhuiyu 《客座贅語》 (Casual Writings on the Visits of Guests), rubric: "On Matteo Ricci".

32 YIN Guangren 印光任 ZHANG Rulin 張汝霖, op. cit., part. 2, p.38 [TCHEONG-Ü-Lam-IAN-Kuong-Iâm, GOMES, Luís Gonzaga, trans., op. cit., p.263].

33 YIN Guangren 印光任 ZHANG Rulin 張汝霖, op. cit., part. 2, pp. 32-33 [TCHEONG-Ü-Lam-IAN-Kuong-Iâm, GOMES, Luís Gonzaga, trans., op. cit., p.251].

34 LUO Changpei 羅常培, Yesu huishi zai yinyunxue shang de gongxian 《耶稣會士在音韻學上的貢獻》 (The Jesuits' Contribution to Phonology), in "Lishi yuyan yanjiu suo jikan" 《歴史語言硏究所集刊》 ("Collected Historical Publications in Linguistics"), vol. 1, part 3.

35 FANG Hao 方豪, Lantinwen chuanru Zhongguo xue 《拉丁文傅入中國學》 (The Introduction of Latin in China),in "Fang Hao wenlu" 《方豪文錄》("Records of Fang Hao"), pp. 225-227.

* Associate Professor in the History Department of Nanjing University.