Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the University of Macau — Lecture by a Famous Teacher of Chinese History and Culture: Multicultural Study Activity in Macao — Father Matteo Ricci and Chinese Culture (2)

On June 18, 2021, at 4:30 p.m., the Centre for Chinese History and Culture of the University of Macau held the second lecture on the theme of “Multicultural Study Activity in Macao — Father Matteo Ricci and Chinese Culture” through the online Zoom platform. Professor Ye Nong, the director of the Centre for Hong Kong and Macau History and Culture of the Jinan University and the Institute of Chinese Cultural and Historical Records of the Jinan University, was invited to give the lecture. Dozens of students from Colégio Mateus Ricci participated in this study activity. This activity mainly divided into three parts, including lecture, study and sharing.

In the last lecture on May 26, 2021, Professor Ye Nong shared his insights on multiculturalism, Macau and Matteo Ricci. The professor quoted Mr. Fei Xiaotong’s saying, “The beauty of each, the beauty of the beautiful, the beauty of the common, the world is the same”, to express his views on the multiculturalism of Macao.

In this lecture, Professor Ye Nong continued the last lecture and discussed the topics of cultural exchange between China and the West, such as Father Matteo Ricci’s missionary journey in China, his history with Macao, and the thoughts in his writings, allowing students to conduct research independently in their spare time. Through the interesting historical events in the Father’s life, the professor pointed out that the Father had made three contributions to the development of Chinese culture: “spreading European knowledge to China”, “introducing Chinese culture to Europe” and “establishing the Matteo Ricci’s Rule”. This allowed students to fully understand the role and influence of priests in the development of Chinese culture. Among them, “Matteo Ricci’s Rules” is a crucial contribution. It is an important way of cultural communication between China and the West, and it also influenced western missionaries to preach in China.