The Interaction and Clash of Ideas between Matteo Ricci and the Taizhou School

Abstract

This article explores the interactions between the Taizhou school and Jesuit missionaries during the late Ming dynasty. It reveals the intellectual exchanges between these influential groups in fields such as philosophy and religion and their significance in spreading Western knowledge to the East. The article begins by introducing the complete process of exchanges between Taizhou school representatives like Jiao Hong, Li Zhi, Zhu Shilu, Tang Xianzu, Xu Guangqi, and Jesuit missionaries including Matteo Ricci. It delves into how these interactions influenced the development of their respective thoughts and academic theories. The exchange between the two groups was not a perfect fusion and was filled with contradictions, conflicts, and struggles, particularly on issues such as human nature and cosmology. By studying this process of exchange, we can understand how the intellectual elite of late Ming China accepted and reflected upon Western thought. It also reveals how Western intellectuals used this exchange to comprehend and appreciate Chinese philosophy and culture.

Keywords

• Matteo Ricci
• Jiao Hong
• Li Zhi
• Taizhou School
• Sino–Western cultural exchange