History

THE JESUIT VISITOR
FATHER ALEXANDER VALIGNANO, AND THE IVTH CENTENARY OF MOVABLE TYPE PRINTING IN MACAU

Beatriz Basto da Silva*

One of the things that attracts me to History is imagining people as they were in their own time and setting with all the individual circumstances and social factors which affected them. It is thus a great pleasure for me to be able to write about the first book to be printed in Macau using movable type, in commemoration of the fourth centenary of this noteworthy event.

The subject of printing in all its stages of development has been given a lot of attention and many very interesting, in-depth studies have been produced. This article is no more than a look at a brief but significant moment in the whole process. I shall place it in its historical setting and by doing so hope to pay homage to all those who made it possible.

Our starting point must lie in the glory of fifteenth century Portugal, the discovery of new lands and trade routes and the contribution made by the Portuguese to international understanding between different peoples and civilizations in the five parts of the world.

How did they do it? By means of, amongst other things, the Church, their schools, their hospitals, the introduction of typesetting and particularly what I shall now examine.

I often tell my students that there are points in History which represent a significant step with repercussions for all mankind. I then demonstrate this by pointing out the progression from inarticulate sounds to articulate speech; the discovery of agriculture, linked to urbanization, safety, division of labour and the accompanying social organization. Finally, the discovery and use of writing, which was completed centuries later with the invention of printing. At the same time, Renaissance Man was freeing himself from the restrictions of a theocentric view of the world and without eliminating the concept of the Other World, was becoming aware of his capacity to take an active role in this one.

Mural in the Vatican Library, an allegorical portrayal of the arrival of the Japanese Christians sent to Rome on the 28th of March, 1585.

Xylographic printing was the first step in this process, its early development starting as a result of observing the effects of marks made on iron, a material used since ancient times. This discovery must have been made in total isolation but the fact that its applications have multiplied and spread, means that nowadays it is impossible to trace the source. What we do know, however, is that xylographic printing had been used for centuries in China and Japan prior to the arrival of the Portuguese.

In addition to being time-consuming and not particularly functional (the process consisted of engraving an image or symbol onto a block of pear, cherry, walnut, or any other hardwood), this method was difficult to carry out. The design was cut out in high relief and once ink had been brushed over the surface it was then pressed onto a sheet of paper, thus producing a copy of the desired image or symbol.

The Jesuits did not break with this tradition when in 1585 they produced the first work to be printed in Chinese and directed by Europeans in Macau. Father Michael Ruggieri, SJ, prepared a Chinese version of the Catechism. It was then put into the hands of a master of converse calligraphy who wrote the Chinese characters on blocks of wood. These were then carefully carved out and used to print the work, thus facilitating the distribution of the catechism throughout China.

St. Francis Xavier believed that literature, especially of a religious nature, for example the Evangelists, the "lettres édifiantes", catechism texts, was a precious and indispensable missionary tool.The reproduction of any of these pieces of writing was of the utmost importance.

Although xylographic printing was seen as the only method for printing Chinese, bringing out as it did the beauty of the calligraphy, the same could not be said of works in Latin and Portuguese. These were languages from Europe, where the discovery of printing with movable type was already a great success.

All the same, the idea of ordering one of these machines from Europe was both costly and full of risks, given the all too common danger of shipwrecks and pirate attacks. Documents from this period indicate that it was common practice to send two or even three copies of letters on different ships going to and from the Orient in order to guarantee that one would reach its destination.

Another way to spread the word would be for the missionaries themselves to copy grammar books and Latin texts by hand. However, the precious time which would be spent on this endeavour was needed for other more urgent tasks such as the priority of learning oriental languages and teaching Latin to the heathens. Latin was, at the time, the only medium for spreading the written word in Asia.

There was yet another obstacle: the terms and language used in the works were geared to Western sensibilities and would have to undergo local alterations for the message to be accepted.

It thus became obvious that the only method to satisfy all these requirements was to buy, in Europe, a press using movable type and to bring it to the Far East and install it here. This was to become the dream of the most far-sighted missionaries as they conjured up the idea of circulating didactic works, missals, breviaries and prayer books produced on the fertile "Gutenberg invention".

A portrait of Alexander Valignano, SJ (1539-1606). He visited Japan three times and was received in a joint audience by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In J. F. Schütte, SJ, Valignanos Missionsgrundsätz für Japan, vol. I, Rome, 1951.

To fully understand the situation, it is necessary to look at these extraordinary people, the missionaries of the recently founded Society of Jesus (1540). They enjoyed an excellent humanistic preparation but more importantly, they were fired by a missionary zeal based on the ideals of total and obedient submission. It cannot be denied that it was the Visitor Father Alexander Valignano who stood out from the group, "the great organizer and promoter of presses in Asia" according to the Orientalist, Georg Schurhammer.

We know about the life of this fifteenth century pioneer from his own writings, in particular from the Annual Letters sent to the Father General of the Society, Cláudio Aquaviva (1543-1615) and from other private letters he wrote. There are also references to him by contemporaries such as Father Francisco de Sousa and Father Luís Fróis who were members of the same order.

Arte Breve da Lingoa Japoa by Father João Rodrigues, printed in Macau in 1620. (Copy held by the Ajuda Library, print taken from Primórdios da Imprensa em Macau by Jack M. Braga.)
Frontispiece of a book printed using engraved plates by Father Michael Ruggiere, SJ, in Macau in the year 1585. This was the first book to be printed in Macau. (The Jesuit Archives in Rome, print taken from Primórdios da Imprensa em Macau by Jack M. Braga, published by the Macau Diocese in 1965.)

Valignano was born in Chieti, Italy on the 20th of December, 1538. In the same year, another humanist Christian was born in Spain, also destined to become a Jesuit: Juán Bonifácio, the author of Christiani Pueri Institutio (recently re-edited by the Cultural Institute of Macau). His path was to cross that of the Visitor Father four hundred years ago in Macau, although they were not to meet in person.

We know that the Mission brought the industrious Father Alexander Valignano as far as India in 1573 and from there he travelled to Macau where he arrived in 1579. After staying a short while there, he embarked for Japan and arrived in Koshinozu-Arima after eighteen days at sea.

He immediately realized the usefulness of a movable type press as a missionary tool and set to work thinking about how he could attain one. Losing no time, he made his dream come true by adopting a practical approach. He wrote to the Father General and also to Archbishop D. Teotónio de Bragança, and he inspired his close colleagues with his own enthusiasm.

The problem of who would accompany the goods, thus making the voyage safer, seemed to be solved: the First Japanese Embassy to the Holy See and the Iberian Kingdoms was due to set off and Valignano, as the man behind the project, was to go with them as director. It is easy to imagine the joy and hope which fired him as he left Japan on the 20th of February, 1582.

Despite a somewhat ennervating delay of ten months in Macau waiting for the monsoon, the day finally arrived when, with renewed faith, they could start out on the Macau - Cochin - Goa stage of the journey. A strong wind pushed them on to Goa where they arrived towards the end of 1583.

Their spirits were high: they could already imagine the spiritual exultation which would dominate the Holy See and the entire Western Church when the young, exotic embassy of Japanese Christians appeared, for they were not only perfectly capable of expressing themselves in Latin but also well versed in Religion and the Humanities. Father Valignano had another reason for his heart to be joyful, perhaps he secretly considered it even more important than the Japanese visit because of the implications it had for proselytizing. The chance of being able to take the new press to Japan was drawing nearer.

Divine Providence, however, was to require him to sacrifice even more time than the ten months he had waited in Macau. He was to be appointed as Provincial Superior of India and would have to remain there. Duty and obedience did not permit him to hesitate. Concealing his disappointment, he quickly appointed Father Nuno Rodrigues, SJ, and Father Diogo de Mesquita, SJ, as his substitutes for the organization of the Embassy.

The longed-for printing press eventually arrived in Goa as the result of considerable willpower and the fact that its purpose was more than justifiable. On the 31st of May, 1587, a man whose figure stood out from the crowd standing on the pier, his eyes filled with tears, gave thanks to God from the bottom of his heart. Father Valignano had just received the precious cargo at the same time as being told that his appointment as Provincial Superior to India had come to an end. Freed for the Japan Mission, he was anxious to set off. Although they had other reasons, the Japanese members of the Embassy were also keen to go back home. Reunited with them, Alexander Valignano spent the four-month voyage on Aires Gonçalves de Miranda's ship making plans for the future. Things were looking good: at least two of the Japanese ambassadors who had gone to Europe, Brother Jorge de Loyola and Constantino Dourado, had acquired a solid foundation in the art of typesetting when they were there. With the advantage of these human resources, his own skills and the machinery they were carrying with them, the Visitor Father considered himself the luckiest of men, regardless of what obstacles lay ahead.

Printed in Nagasaki in 1603 with a later supplement dated 1604, the dictionary presented over 32,000 words.

Nothing worthwhile, however, is without obstacles. As soon as they arrived in Macau in the Summer of 1588, the Jesuits in the city informed him of Hideyoshi's decree ordering the expulsion of Christians from Kyoto and the subsequent persecution of Christians in Japan. The disastrous news was both unexpected and difficult to understand, as it came after five years in which Christianity had been looked upon favourably. This could not be part of God's plan. It was just another test and would have to be overcome. So, far from giving up, the missionary became even more convinced of the need to meet Hideyoshi and try to obtain a reversal of the decree. Moreover, he had in his favour the fact that the Vice-roy of India had appointed him as his ambassador to Hideyoshi. To this effect, he had even brought some curios and religious gifts to be offered to Hideyoshi. This would give him the chance to request an audience with the great man and put his plan into practice. Taking advantage of a Chinese boat which was setting off for Japan, he sent instructions to the Fathers of the Society who were still living there for them to sound out Hideyoshi's mood. He had chosen just the right moment, for surprisingly enough, the ferocious Japanese signed a declaration indicating that the Vice-roy of India's envoy would be welcomed!

One of the first books to be printed in Macau (1590), this is a description of the Mission sent by the Japanese on Kyushu to Pope Gregory XIII compiled by Father Alexander Valignano and written in Latin by Father Duarte Sande, SJ.

Father Valignano received word of this success on the 22nd of November, 1588, but the Trade Ship which left Macau each year for Japan had just left and for some reason there was no ship in the following year. It was only on the 21st of July 1590, that the inimitable missionary disembarked in Nagasaki. The fruits of his activities in the field of printing were the result of having made his dream come true and surrendering it to the service of God.

What remains to be discussed now is what happened in Macau from the Summer of 1588 until early 1590 when during his enforced rest the Visitor Father decided to go ahead with his project and start printing whatever he could so that he could leave part with the Mission in China, taking the rest to Japan. He did this with the support of some specialized colleagues:

-The Japanese Brother Jorge de Loyola, who had distinguished himself in the Mission to Europe by offering up an erudite prayer in Latin in the presence of the ecclesiatical authorities in the famous Convent of Santa Cruz in Coimbra. He was an immense help to Father Valignano in his work in Macau and was the only one who did not return to his homeland as he died here in 1589;

- Constantino Dourado, also Japanese and a member of the same Mission in the capacity of assistant catechist (he entered the Society of Jesus later on and was ordained in Macau in 1617). He used his skills in carving typeheads and printing just as he had done in Portugal from where he brought molds;

- Brother Giovanni Battista Pesce, who was a disciple of the famous Father Francisco Rodrigues (not to be confused with the Tsuyaku of Japan) who was to become Prefect of the Japanese Press and participated in the first two publications to be produced on the printing press in Macau.

Perhaps we can now consider the works which Father Valignano directed and which opened up such an important field. The second of these was De Missione Legatorum Iaponensium ad Romanan Curiam, concluded in 1590. As the title indicates, this was a report on the events linked to the Mission of the Japanese Envoys to the Vatican. The first work has been left until last so as to give it more emphasis. This was an adapted reedition of Juán Bonifácio's work Christiani Pueri Institutio Adolescentiaeque Perfugium. The value of this book can be assessed from the large number of editions it went through - eight during the XⅥth century and the first quarter of the XⅦth. It is a collection of Sacred Scripts and texts by classical writers both Christian and profane, which were regarded as indispensable in the education of a Christian child.

It is a strange coincidence that we can commemorate the fourth centenary of the first work to be printed using movable type in Macau and the fifth centenary of the same event in Portugal.

Father Alexander Valignano died in 1606. It is salutary to remember a man who planted such generous and lasting seeds in this soil. He was a great humanist and Jesuit missionary who would have expected us to use this heritage with wisdom and respect, allowing freedom of expression to clarify and facilitate the freedom to choose peace amongst men.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrantes Pinto, J. A. et al: La Première Ambassade du Japon en Europe. 1582-1592. Première Partie/Le Traité du Père Frois, Tokyo, Sophia University, 1942.

Bonifácio, Iohanne: Christiani Pueri Institutio..., Macau, ICM, 1988.

Boxer, C. R.: "A Tentative Checklist of Indo-Portuguese Imprints", Arquivo do Centro Cultural Português, vol IX, Fundação C. Gulbenkian, Paris, 1975.

Braga, Jack M.: Primórdios da Imprensa em Macau, pub. by Boletim Eclesiástico da Diocese de Macau, 1965.

Guerreiro, Fernão: Relação Anual das Coisas que Fizeram os Padres da Companhia de Jesus nas Missões, Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 1931.

Laures, SJ, Johannes: Kirishitan Bunko, Tokyo, 1957.

Lucena, João de: Vida do Padre Francisco Xavier, União Gráfica, Lisbon, no date.

EDITOR'S NOTE

As an additional feature in the first two articles, we have used embellished capitals and other ornamention of the kind used in the first books published in Portugal.

The capital letters are from a German decorative alphabet used by Valentim Fernandes, one of the first printers to appear. The alphabet was produced in Germany by Israel von MecKnem. It was used by the printer Peter Wagner in Nuremberg and may have been taken directly to Portugal by Fernandes.

All the capitals, decorations and reproductions of prints are taken from Origens da Imprensa em Portugal by Artur Anselmo (Ed. Imprensa Nacional,1980).

Translated from the Portuguese by Marie Imelda Macleod

*Graduate in History from Coimbra University; researcher on Macau's history and the Portuguese in the Orient. Authoress of several publications.

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