China and the Legacy of Matteo Ricci - A McGrath Institute Lecture by Dr. Anthony Clark
On Thursday, March 6, 2025, Dr. Anthony Clark spoke at Notre Dame on the legacy of the famed Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552 – 1610), known the Chinese as 利玛窦. Ricci arrived in China during the waning years of the Ming Dynasty. At a time when Westerner were considered barbarians, he mastered Chinese, studied the Chinese classics, and so impressed his contemporaries with his erudition that he earned on invitation to take up residents in the imperial capital.
Formed by the Gospel and Renaissance humanism, Ricci gained a hearing in China precisely because he had profound respect for Chinese culture and traditions. A sagely aura hovers over Ricci’s legacy.
Dr. Clark wastes no time acknowledging the profound respect that contemporaries had for Ricci, and the heated controversy that his presence in China stirred up. Not everyone appreciated even the good things Ricci had to say about Chinese culture, and he had his share of reservations and misunderstandings, as well.
Dr. Clark is the Edward B. Lindaman Endowed Chair at Whitworth University, the Distinguished Combe Trust Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, and an elected Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society. His published works include China’s Saints: Catholic Martyrdom During the Qing (2010); Beating Devils and Burning Their Books: Views of China, Japan, and the West (2010): A Voluntary Exile: Chinese Christianity and Cultural Confluence since 1552 (2014); Heaven in Conflict: Franciscans and the Boxer Uprising in Shanxi (2015); China’s Christianity: From Missionary to Indigenous Church (2017); China’s Catholics in an Era of Transformation: Observations of an “Outsider” (2020); A Chinese Jesuit Catechism: Giulio Aleni’s Four Character Classic 四字經文 (2021).
McGrath’s next event exploring the dialogue of values between China and the West will take place in early November. It will feature famed lecturer and author Rev. Dr. Gianni Criveller, PIME, Director of Asia News. If you would like to be kept informed, send an email to sign up here.