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Jesuits who arrived in China to preach the gospel between the 16th and 19th centuries left an indelible mark on the country, and it was there that they spent the rest of their natural lives.
Man on a mission
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Li Xiumei loves snow. “It purifies and silences everything, especially in this part of the campus,” says the associate law professor at the Beijing Administration Institute.
“After one snowy night I came here early in the morning to sink my footsteps into the spotless white sponge cake, footsteps that took me to a group of men that has occupied my imagination and much of my time for the past decade.”
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On his majesty’s service, and at his mercy
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“The moment they sought help from a Chinese emperor was the moment they placed themselves in the hands of these powerful — and often equally intelligent — men. But the manipulation, if that’s what you want to call it, was mutual,” says Zhang Xiping, whose book Following the Steps of Matteo Ricci to China offers tantalizing glimpses into a group of adventurer-missionaries who arrived in between the 16th and 19th centuries. Most would never see the land of their birth again.
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