TOMB OF MATTEO RICCI

Born in 1552 in Macerata, in the centre of Italy, Matteo Ricci was sent to the Far East by the Society of Jesus in 1582. After a long boat ride, he remained in Macao for some Time to Learn Mandarin, after being successively successively from Guandong to Jianxi and Jiangsu he arrived in Beijing in 1601. It was then Emperor Wan Li entrusted him with a mathematician and astronomer. If he initiated the imperial family and senior officials to the new Western discoveries in the field of astronomy, mathematics, physics and geography, he was also one of the first sinologues and the founder of the Catholic mission in China. It also contributed to cultural exchanges between the East and the West, revealing to Europeans classical culture and Chinese arts. He left many scientific works in China as well as an atlas based on the very extensive geographic knowledge of the world at the time of the world.

He died in May 1610 in Beijing, and Wan Li decided to honour his memory to give him a burial worthy of a minister. Adopting a circular form, this tomb is preceded by a square stele whose pediment is adorned with a cross. On the stele is engraved a inscription in the two languages, Chinese and Western "Tomb of the Missionary Matteo Ricci of the Society of Jesus". The whole is surrounded by a low wall in the middle of the pines.

On each side, the tombs of two other missionaries, Ferdinand Verbiest (who served as deputy director of the department of the Ministry of Industry under Kang Xi des Qing) and Adam Schall (who worked as the Imperial Observatory director under Tian Qi des Ming), will be noted.