The transmission of the European cultural Renaissance in China: A journey through the letters of Alessandro Valignano (1575-1606)

Abstract

Alessandro Valignano is key to understanding the entry of the Jesuits Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci into the Ming Empire. His insight and experience of the mission in Japan made him aware of the importance of mastering the Chinese language as a sine qua non for gaining access to the Middle Kingdom. The Visitor of the mission was the prime authority of the China Mission and the true founder of this enterprise. Nevertheless, relations between Valignano and China were either considered from a generic point of view or, conversely, in such detail that they had been reduced to a few specific circumstances. This article aims to locate and consider some unpublished European sources about the Father Visitor of the Jesuits, Alessandro Valignano, and his opinions and organization of the China Mission during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The study concentrates on primary sources ranging from Valignano’s first contact with China to his grand plan of a Roman Embassy to China (1588-1603), while also examining his relationship with Matteo Ricci.