Background

The Macau Ricci Institute is a nonprofit, study and research institution dedicated to fostering better mutual understanding between China and the world community.Offering a unique blend of cultural, professional, and research programs, the purpose and method of the Macau Ricci Institute are best summed up in its links with the city of Macau, the person of Matteo Ricci, the Society of Jesus, and the peoples of China.

Macau, from its earliest history (1557) and very geographical existence, remains a noteworthy experiment in intercultural encounter and understanding. For centuries a gateway between China and the West, Macau continues to be an ideal lens through which to broaden understanding of the thoughts and ideals of peoples from different cultures. In many aspects, Macau is a human and cultural crossroads - a real, although small, international city.

Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) is known as the initiator of the Catholic missions in China and one of the earliest members of the Society of Jesus. Others before him ventured toward China, but did not succeed in remaining there for life, let alone to receive the respect and admiration from the Chinese people that Ricci enjoys even to this day. The root of Ricci's success lies in his achieved integration as a human person that made it possible for him to enter so fully into another culture without losing himself.

The Society of Jesus and Macau, in many ways, share together a common beginning and 450 years of history. The Jesuits in Macau have always been at the service of the human person, either in need of education or material help, but always at the very deepest level of ideals and hopes, where culture finds its roots. This Jesuit tradition continues even today in Macau at the Macau Ricci Institute.

During the four and a half centuries of Macau's history, China has taken various steps to develop new channels of contact and exchange with the outside world. While not without challenges and the pain of new birth, with these prolonged encounters and exchanges new horizons have been opened to China and the world at large. Through its programs, publications and services, the Macau Ricci Institute gives witness to the advantages that all share through a continued and mutual search for intercultural understanding.

Our Logo

The logo of the Macau Ricci Institute is taken from an image embossed on a bianhu, or flat wine vessel, in bronze dating from the time of the Han Dynasty. The image is of a Taoist Immortal riding a tiger.

The Tiger, prince of the wild beasts of the mountain, the roar of which stirs up the wind in the valley, is the animal in which resides the "Yin," the vital principle of Earth. The Tiger signifies the "Yin" that calls forth the action of the "Yang."

To dominate the Tiger symbolizes to master the forces of Earth. All humanity looks around and seeks to understand the grandeur, power and beauty in which we live. The search for understanding, particularly intercultural understanding, is the purpose of the Macau Ricci Institute.

Beginnings

The Macau Ricci Institute was founded on December 10, 1999, just a few days before the handover of Macau, on December 20, under direct Chinese administration. The original inception of the Institute, however, dates back to 1994, when the city of Macau celebrated the Fourth Centenary of the foundation, in 1594, of the University of St. Paul by the Society of Jesus.

On July 26, 2000 the Macau Ricci Institute was legally recognized as a public institution in Macau. Among the founding members of the Institute were seven Jesuits and three distinguished scholars and professionals. After renovation and preparation of the facility housing the Institute, the first priority was to bring together, through donation and purchase of books, a basic working library.

The opening ceremony of the Macau Ricci Institute library and facilities was held on October 12, 2001, the year of the celebration of the 400th. anniversary of Matteo Ricci's arrival in Beijing in 1601. Before the opening ceremony, the Chief Executive of Macau, Dr. Edmond Ho, welcomed in a private meeting the Board of Directors of the Institute.

The opening ceremony was highlighted by the presentation and display of the facsimile and critical edition of a Portuguese-Chinese manuscript dictionary composed by early Jesuits Michele Ruggieri (1543-1607) and Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) soon after their arrival in Macau (1582). Such a cultural program, fruit of the collaboration of the Instituto Portugues do Oriente and the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History, at the University of San Francisco, was really fitting the event. The dictionary has since been published in Lisbon by the Portuguese National Library and the Portuguese Oriental Institute.

The Macau Ricci Institute has continued to develop and offer a variety of cultural, professional, and research programs.

Focus

There is a threefold focus at the MRI:

Comparative Spirituality

Inspired by The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola, the contemplative dimension has played a crucial role as an instrument of dialogue with other wisdom traditions, such as Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Islam.  It has also enabled the Christian faith to take root in different cultures. With its annual Symposium and a variety of Forums, the MRI brings together different circles of society and offers them different ways to dialogue with Chinese culture and wisdom traditions. Biographies of missionaries, such as Matteo Ricci, Alessandro Valignano, Johann Adam Schall, and Giuseppe Castiglione, as well as the story of the Rites Controversy.

Moral Leadership

The widening gap between the rich and the poor, as well as the growing ecological crisis, require new approaches to economics which are oriented to the common good.

The history of missionary activity in Macau offers insights for values education, highlighting solidarity, subsidiarity, fairness, and the importance of role models. The MRI is committed to sharing key insights from the lives of the missionaries with students from high schools in Macau, Hong Kong and beyond. It has also launched Cinema Forums which allow the participants to better understand Chinese culture and specifically feature examples of Confucian ethics. 

Social innovation

The history of exchange between China and the West documents how deeply missionaries have contributed to social innovation.  Examples include their sharing of knowledge about the natural sciences, including mathematics, geometry, cartography, astronomy, and medicine.  They also used music and the fine arts in order to share their friendship with local people. The MRI highly values cultural events, featuring music and art, as a privileged way of dialogue between different cultures. The Institute sponsors research projects focused on the music and art of Jesuits in Macau and China. The MRI collaborates with the University of Saint Joseph and the Jesuit Worldwide Learning network in an effort to reach disadvantaged student demographics using blended learning methodologies in both online and offline courses.