Matteo Ricci: His Map and Music—Program Notes
Ann Waltner
An Italian Jesuit makes a map of the world (including the Americas) in Beijing in 1602, in Chinese. Thousands of copies are printed. In 1608 the emperor asks for a copy of the map; new blocks are carved and copies are printed on silk for the emperor. None of the silk copies survive, and only six of the paper copies survive. One of the paper copies has recently been acquired by the James Ford Bell library, University of Minnesota. This map prompted this collaboration.
Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), the author of the map, was a member of the first Jesuit mission to China. Ricci was a mathematician and a cartographer. He used his scientific skills to appeal to Chinese literati, hoping to lead them to an interest in Christianity. He acquired a high degree of literacy in Chinese; he wrote a number of works in Chinese in addition to the map.
Huang Ruo’s “Fisherman’s Sonnet” pays homage to kun opera, which was popular in south China at the time Ricci was there. As a contemporary piece with resonances with the past, it alerts the listener to the fact that the performance is not an act of nostalgia, but rather weaves past and present together in a richly textured way.
The performance then proceeds in segments, which are framed by songs which enfold spoken text, in both English and Chinese. The words spoken in English represent words written by or about Ricci in western languages (Latin or Italian); the ones spoken in Chinese were written by or about him in Chinese. The songs were chosen both for their musical interest and the ways in which they provide thematic connections to Ricci and his life and work.
Matteo Ricci: His Map and Music
Fisherman's Sonnet Huang Ruo
(b. 1976)
An old fisherman, with a fishing rod, leans against a cliff by the side of the bay.
Boats come to and fro without a care.
Sandgulls dot the shore, clear waves in the distance.
At Di harbor, the wind whistles, the day turns cold.
I sing a loud song, and the waning sun sets.
In a single moment, the waves shake the golden shadows,
I suddenly lift my head, and the moon rise on east mountain.
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Benedictus Dominus Deus Sabaoth Andrea Gabrieli
(1532/33–1585)
Blessed be the Lord of hosts.
Blessed be those who fight in the name of the Lord.
His powerful and inexorable hand fights for them.
The hand of the Lord defends them.
Samson has fought. Gideon has fought. Samson has won. Gideon has won.
Our armies have fought in the name of the Lord.
God has sustained us in battle and won over his enemies.
Let us exult and rejoice and sing his praise.
RicercarA. Gabrieli
Recitation
On August 15 1571, at the feast of the Assumption, the nineteen-year-old Matteo Ricci entered St. Andrews Quirinale in Rome, as a Jesuit novice. He took with him a coat of old cloth, three shirts, three books, and a towel. He recalled those years in a letter written on November 15, 1594:
Things from my youth are more vivid in my memory than anything else. The events of my early years in the Society of Jesus return to me most often and are most deeply rooted in my heart, especially the generosity with which you helped me and directed me on the path toward virtue. Those memories remained with me throughout all the years in China. If I had not been able to hold fast to the memory of the things God showed me when he drew me from my parents, then I would have been in even greater peril than I was.
In October of 1571, an alliance of Europeans led by the Venetians defeated the Ottoman Turks at Lepanto in pitched and bloody battle.
Oct. 7, 1571. Dawn. The wind from the east. A fine autumn day.
A Venetian official described the scene:
Hurtling toward each other, the two fleets were quite a terrifying sight; our men in shining helmets and breastplates, metal shields like mirrors, other weapons glittering in the rays of the sun. The polished blades of the drawn swords dazzled men full in the face, even from a distance. …And the enemy were no less threatening; they struck fear in our hearts. We were amazed and wondered at their golden lanterns and shimmering banners bedecked with thousands of astonishing colors.”
So great was the roaring of the canon at the start of the battle that it is not possible to imagine or describe it.
A mortal storm of arquebus shots and arrows flew, and it seemed that the sea was aflame from the flashes and continuous fires lit by fire trumpets, fire pots and other weapons. ...And death came endlessly from the two-handed swords, scimitars, iron maces, daggers, axes, swords, arrows, arquebuses, and fire weapons. Others would drown by throwing themselves into the sea, thick and red with blood.
An Ottoman chronicler remembered the day:
I saw the wretched place where the battle took place myself. There has never been such a disastrous war in an Islamic land, nor in all the seas of the world since Noah created ships. …The total reckoning of men lost was more than twenty thousand.
The young Cervantes, who was wounded in the battle, characterized it as the greatest event witnessed by ages past, present, and to come.
Alla BattagliaA. Gabrieli
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Tianfeng Huanpei – Heavenly Breezes through the Jewels
Recitation
On his way to China, Ricci stopped at Goa. A contemporary described the bustling scene in Goa in a letter dated 1578.
This is the place for merchants to fill their sacks. This city is at the center of trade routes. Here come goods from all directions. Here one finds Jews and Gentiles, Moors, Persians, Arabs, Venetians, and even Turks themselves. There is no better place for soldiers because armies are formed here every day.
For those who are lazy or pleasure-loving, life is so good here that it would be better for them if it were not so good.
Ricci went from Goa to Macao, and then on to China. The great thinker Li Zhi described Ricci in a letter to a friend in the year 1600.
You asked about Li Xitai (Ricci). Xitai is a man from the western regions who has travelled over 100,000 li to reach China. He sailed to southern India, a journey of 40,000 li, and first learned of the existence of Buddhism. It was only when he arrived at Nanhai, in Guangzhou, that he learned that our kingdom of the great Ming had at first Yao and Shun, then the Duke of Zhou and Confucius. He then stayed for about twenty years in Nanhai and Zhaoqing, and there is not a single one of our books he has not read. He asked an elder to correct his pronunciation and his understanding of words. He asked someone who understood the principles of the Four Books to explain their magnificent meaning to him; he asked someone who was learned in the commentaries of the Six Classics to give him all the necessary explanations. Now he is perfectly capable of speaking our language, writing essays in our language, and following our rituals. He is altogether a remarkable man. Although personally, he is extremely refined, his manner is as simple as can be. In a noisy and confused gathering of several dozen people, with everybody speaking at once, the arguments that he is following do not disturb him at all. Among all the people I have ever seen, none is his equal. [The fact is that] people err through an excess of either inflexibility or compliancy—they either make a show of their intelligence or their minds are limited. They are all inferior to him. But I do not really know what he has come to do here. I have now met him three times and still I do not know what he is here for. I think it would be much too naive for him to want to substitute his own teaching for that of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius. So that is surely not the reason.
Some of the Chinese who encountered Ricci were less enthusiastic than Li Zhi. He records in his diary an edict by a Canton official
Matteo Ricci entered the kingdom of China with no sinister motive and violated none of its laws while here. Yet perhaps he has forgotten his native land? He certainly knows that he may lead a religious life anywhere he chooses. Furthermore, it is not proper for strangers to remain too long in this province. Therefore, it is proper that we send him back to his own country.
But Ricci stayed
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Quam pulchri SuntG. P. Palestrina
(1525/26–1594)
How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter!
Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes divine.
and thy hair of thine head like purple,
How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love. Alleluia
Amor m’ha posto and I pensier son saetteGiovanni Nanino
(1543–1607)
Recitation
Ricci kept a diary in which he made observations about Chinese life.
The Chinese usually marry at an early age, and they do not favor a great difference in the ages of those being married. Marriage contracts are arranged by the parents of both parties without the consent of those to be married, though at times they may be consulted. Those who belong to the upper social classes marry within their class, and equal family standing is required for legitimate marriage. All men are free to have concubines. Class or fortune means nothing in their selection, as the only standard of preference is physical beauty. These concubines may be purchased for a hundred pieces of gold. ...The King and his sons pick their wives for beauty only, with no regard to nobility of race.
The most important of all Chinese holidays, and the one celebrated throughout the whole country is their New Year’s Day, which is celebrated at the time of the first new moon and at the time of the first full moon. This is known as the lantern festival because everyone illuminates his house with lanterns, made of cardboard or glass or cloth. The markets are filled with these lanterns. Everyone purchases lanterns that strike their fancy. One would think that the houses are afire; so many lights are burning in each of them. During this time too there is a great deal of night reveling. Long files of people parade through the streets, dancing as if they were fiery dragons. They cavort and shoot off fireworks and other festive lights, until the whole town presents a gleaming spectacle of astonishing brilliance.
Nigra sum, sed formosaG. P. Palestrina
I am black but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not think that I am dark,
for the sun has changed my colour.
My mother's sons fought against me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards.
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My Promises are AboveHuang Ruo
Text by Matteo Ricci
Who can recognize the situation of mankind?
The situation of people is the opposite of trees.
A tree’s roots are in the ground, so it receives its nourishment from the earth;
Its trunk and branches reach toward heaven.
People’s roots incline towards heaven, thus they receive sustenance from heaven.
But our trunk and limbs extend downwards.
What the gentleman knows is knowledge of God.
What the gentleman studies is the study of God.
So he chooses how to instruct the people.
The heart of God only shows great sympathy for the common people, and seldom allows rumbling thunder to harm people.
When God demands the sun and moon to shine, they shine not in private places.
God often causes the rain and snow to fall, but they fall not on private fields.
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Vestiva i colli, passeggiato Basso soloBartolomeo de Selma
(c1580–c1640)
Vestiva i colliG. P. Palestrina
Recitation
When Ricci went to China, he took with him many books, several maps and two clavichords. He hung one of the maps on the wall of his residence.
The more learned among the Chinese admired it very much and when they were told that it was a view and a description of the whole world, they became greatly interested in seeing the same thing done in Chinese.
The map is full of words. Some tell us about the map itself; others describe the world it portrays. Ricci writes about how he made the map.
For the greater convenience of the spectator, I made the map in the form of a large screen with six leaves, thus enabling the viewer to travel about, as it were, while reclining at ease in his own study. To be able to scan the countries of the world in turn without going out of doors is a great advantage in accumulating knowledge of the world.
Wu Zuohai adds some details.
The religious man, Ricci, who came from Europe, has published a Complete Geographic Map of the Mountains and the Seas, which many literati have undertaken to circulate widely. When I asked him how he had made the map, his response was that everything was based on old books printed in his country. The fact is that his fellow citizens and the Franks love long voyages and whenever they pass through remote lands they send back description of them and write their impressions. With the gradual accumulation of these relations over many years, the result is that they have been able to acquaint themselves fairly well with the general shape of the earth.
The map depicts Europe as peaceful and prosperous.
The continent of Europe comprises more than 30 countries, all of which are monarchies that follow the systems of the previous kings. No one here indulges in heterodoxy; everyone adheres only to the Holy Religion of the Lord of Heaven, the Supreme Deity. Their officials are divided into three classes: the highest are occupied with matters of religion, then those deciding secular affairs, and finally those who are concerned exclusively with the military. The region produces five grains, five metals and 100 species of fruit. They make wine from the juice of grapes. All craftsmen are wonderfully clever. They completely understand the principles of astronomy. Their customs are simple and straightforward; they value the five relationships. Production is very abundant. The princes and their subjects are strong and rich. In every season relations are maintained with foreign countries. Travelling merchants go to every country in the world. It is 80,000 [li from China] In antiquity there was no contact with China. It is only in the past 70 or so years that there has been contact.
Così le chiome mie, seconda parteGirolamo Dalla Casa
(d 1601)
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Gaoshan liushui – High Mountains and Flowing Waters
Recitation
Text by Matteo Ricci
Regretting Growing Old without Attaining Virtue
My springtime years are receding; they are gone and will not come again.
Old age silently encroaches; it will not spare even me.
Why did I build grand mansions on narrow ground, using my finitedays to make endless schemes?
At least I have this day, I will use it and not waste it.
Do not count on tomorrow, for tomorrow brings no guarantees.
Hopes for tomorrow: are they not just lies told to deceive fools?
A fool stands day after day on the riverbank, waiting for the river to dry.
The waters flow endlessly to the sea; until the end of time, it will never dry.
The years, they have light wings; no wonder they fly by so fast.
I do not blame the years for quickly flying by; I only regret my own slow progress.
Old age is fast upon me; my virtue lags behind.
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Loquebantur variis linguisG. P. Palestrina
The Apostles spoke in many languages of the great works of God,
as the Holy Spirit gave them the gift of speech, alleluia.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak.
Ricercar AriosoA. Gabrieli
Recitation
I have applied myself to the study of Chinese and I assure your reverence that it is quite another thing from Greek or German. The spoken language has few syllables and many sounds mean more than a thousand different things. There is no difference between them other than pronouncing one with a tone that is higher or lower than other syllables. This is why when the Chinese speak among themselves they often write to make their meaning clear because written words differ from one another. As for the characters, they simply cannot be believed if you have not seen them.
On a 1603 edition of the map a follower named Paul Li wrote:
Despite the fact that Westerners have sounds in their languages and a writing system so different from that of China, we can find commonalities. When the mind is the same, the way of reasoning is also the same. This is why wise men, princes, ministers and great mandarins are everyday closely in contact with them and reverence them in an extraordinary manner.Now the Westerners I speak of are Mr. Ricci and two or three of his fellow members of the Society of Jesus.