In many portraits, Xu Guangqi always stands with a European, who is Matteo Ricci from Italy. Matteo Ricci can be called "Renaissance Man". He is not only profound in theology, but also proficient in science, literature, art and music. He knows how to print books, repair clocks, build houses and grow crops. During his stay in China, he introduced many western theories to the people of China, especially his cooperation with Xu Guangqi in translating Elements of Geometry, which became a great event in the history of science and technology in China. However, little known is that Li also mastered a secret "memory technique" and won the favor of Ming literati with this "special function".
In ancient Greece and Rome, there were "memorabilia". According to Cicero and St. Thomas, the so-called "memorabilia" is to construct a virtual "memory palace" in people's minds. Those who master memorabilia can see many connected rooms filled with objects and images related to the meaning of words. After Matteo Ricci came to China, he learned Chinese with amazing efficiency, memorized the four books and five classics, and became the first scholar in the west who was proficient in China culture. This is largely due to his "mnemonics". He put his knowledge about China in a virtual "memory palace". Shi Li once showed his magical ability of "never forgetting anything" to the literati. At that time, China people attached great importance to reciting Confucian classics, so they were taught by the scholar-officials to help them pass the imperial examinations, including Xu Guangqi. Giving him a good memory brought him closer to China scholar-officials.
I am the cultural director of the Italian Consulate General in Shanghai. After diplomacy, I like to study the stories of Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci. I found in Italian Latin ancient books that Li's mnemonic was written by Giulio Camillo,/kloc-one of the most famous thinkers in Europe in the 6th century. Based on "7", he built a "memory palace" similar to a stepped theater. This virtual palace has 7 rows and 7 columns and consists of 49 rooms. Each room is painted with various images and symbols, corresponding to the virtual residents. There is a certain correlation between horizontal and vertical rooms. The number 7 is the number of gods in the west. According to western tradition, it marks the seven stars closely related to the world. From left to right, it is represented as the moon, mercury, Venus, the sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Seven days a week, that's how it comes. According to the principle of secret astrology, carmelo designed a mysterious palace consisting of 49 rooms, which was studied by princes and nobles all over Europe. Confucian scholars are keen on "reciting merits" and curious about the "mnemonics" brought by Matteo Ricci.
16 10 After Matteo Ricci's death, Xu Guangqi lived for another 23 years during the turbulent Chongzhen period. During this period, another Italian Jesuit, Xiong Sanba, became Xu Guangqi's assistant. With the help of this young man, Xu Guangqi translated the European hydraulic engineering work Tessie Water Law, which was later included in the famous agricultural encyclopedia, and was a pioneer in introducing western engineering. The original surname of this "Xiong Sanba" is "sabatini de Uris". "Nipo Road", also known as "Sabatini", was originally a descendant of Xiong Sanba. Matteo Ricci and Xiong Sanba came to China and never returned to their hometown. They were buried in Beijing after their death. However, descendants with the same surname still remember their ancestors' contribution to the cultural exchange between China and the West. Taking Xuhui District as an opportunity to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Xu Guangqi's translation of Geometry, descendants of Xu, Li and Xiong will gather in Xujiahui to remember their ancestors. How happy they are! (This article was written by Yin Rong)
Please read an article "Discovering Xu Guangqi" in Lisbon.