Matteo Ricci et al. (1552–1775)
Perception of catholic and especially Jesuit missionaries' role in: political and cultural contacts between Orient and the West now demands definite correction at the level of profane conscience as well as a historical phenomenon. Stable cliches basing on the widespread 19–20,h centuries' ideas, according to which Western missionaries were regarded as "chain dogs" of imperialism and colonialism are extended to the whole history of Jesuit missions even in China, where the Jesuit fathers appeared in the end of XVI century. Russian sinology is traditionally skeptic to Chinese accounts made by the European missionaries since the very times of N. Bitchurin.
The legendary Jesuit father Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) occupies a very special position in the history of Sino-European relations. Before his journey and life in China this country was an unknown land for the Europeans (it was Ricci who positively identified Marco Polo's Kathay with China), while for the learned mandarin scholars the West used to be a vast and unreliable gossip.
Jesuit means and goals, having been a complicating factor of European politics since 16th century proved to be especially effective in their missionary activities in the East, because they based on the cultural adaptation, religious tolerance, language preparation and even ethnic mimicry of the Jesuit preachers. In spite of the fact that the Jesuits were blamed for inappropriate innovations and confessional compromise they justified their strategy by the "apostolic" methods, characteristic of the first centuries of Christian expansion.
The failure of church mission in China was a terrible blow, which ruined the Western presence in the Celestial Empire: in 1773 started the persecutions of the Order of Jesuits, who were finally overthrown by the rivals being accused in using unorthodox means of conversion. Jesuit success was much envied. Though the Order was restored in 1814, the repression proved to be the strongest blow, because the Jesuits were the pivot of all Christian missions and achieved outstanding success in their work. Their activities continued in mostly hidden and illegal form, because the only Emperor's edict, which provided the privileges of unrestricted religious tolerance was issued in 1692 and followed by many reverse rules. Nevertheless the members of the Order not only managed to convert some very important persons at the court, but also spread the ideas of their religion to many Chinese provinces. The quantity of the proselytes expressed in 6-digit figures and they even got the exclusive permission to build the church inside the Forbidden City in the very centre of the state with dramatically different moral and ethical tradition and religions.
Rationalist authors, especially Voltaire, widely used Jesuit sources, being the fans of Chinese moral principles, common sense and "religion". However neither Ricci, nor his followers were guilty in Voltaire's exaggerations. The first missionaries of the Old mission mostly admired political organization of the country where they saw the practical embodiment of Plato's government of philosophers.
The activities of Matteo Ricci and his followers in China was an unprecedented experience of alteration the dominant ideological cliches of the time and it opened the new era in the history of East-Western relations.
