Page 323 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

1624 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

first six books of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry (1607),
and The Ten Paradoxes (1608). Roman Empire
In the end it was not Ricci’s religious teachings but his
scientific knowledge, as demonstrated by his mastery of riginating as a conglomeration of small pastoral
astronomy and use of sundials, clocks, and prisms, that Ocommunities scattered across seven neighboring
impressed the Chinese court. His deep understanding of hills along theTiber River of Italy, Rome grew to become
Chinese culture, combined with his willingness to accom- the capital of an empire that encompassed all the territo-
modate his appearance and religious views to the tradi- ries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, extending from
tions of the Confucian literary elite, paved the way for the British Isles to the Arabian Peninsula. Roman impe-
later generations of Jesuit missionaries in China. How- rial authority combined the exercise of political and eco-
ever, Matteo Ricci’s contention that the Chinese practice nomic dominance with cultural and ideological
of Confucian rites, or “ancestor worship,” was not a reli- sovereignty, enforced through strength of arms.The con-
gious practice but a social custom was overturned a cen- cept of “empire” in English-language usage ultimately
tury later by the Congregation of Rites in Rome in derives from the Latin word imperium.
1704, a decision that ended an earlier period of cultural
accommodation and toleration. The Roman Republic
According to legend, the city of Rome was founded by
Robert John Perrins
Romulus, son of the war god Mars, on 21 April 754/753
See also Missionaries BCE. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site was
occupied by pastoralists and farmers as early as 1500 BCE
but not urbanized until the sixth century BCE under the
Further Reading influence of cities to the north (established by the Etruscans
Cronin,V. (1955). The wise man from the West. New York: Dutton. in the area now known as “Tuscany”) and to the south
Dunne, G. H. (1962). Generation of giants: The story of the Jesuits in
China in the last decades of the Ming Dynasty. Notre Dame, IN: Uni- (founded by Greek colonists in southern Italy and Sicily).
versity of Notre Dame Press. Originally unified under an Etruscan king, the indigenous
Gernet, J. (1986). China and the Christian impact: A conflict of cultures.
(J. Lloyd,Trans.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Latin-speaking inhabitants of Rome had established their
Harris, G. (1966). The mission of Matteo Ricci, S.J.: A case study of an city as a republic about 500 BCE.The republic’s basic law
effort at guided cultural change in the sixteenth century. Monumenta code, the Twelve Tables (451/450 BCE) defined and guar-
Serica, 25(1), 1–168.
Spence, J. D. (1984). The memory palace of Matteo Ricci. New York: anteed the fundamental rights and responsibilities of all cit-
Viking Penguin. izens, but the institutional structures of the state continued
Trigault, N. (1953). China in the sixteenth century: The journals of
Matthew Ricci, 1583 –1610 (L. J. Gallagher,Trans.). New York: Ran- to evolve down to about 300 BCE.
dom House. The senior magistrates of the Roman republic were the
Young, J. D. (1980). East-West synthesis: Matteo Ricci and Confucianism. two consuls, elected annually and given chief executive
Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong Press.
power in civil and military matters, including the com-
mand of Rome’s armies. Other annually elected officials
in the republic included the praetor, who supervised the
administration of justice; the quaestors, who oversaw the
Roman state’s finances; and the aediles, who maintained public

order and the city’s infrastructure (markets, trade, roads,
Catholicism sanitation, and state-sponsored public entertainments).
Every five years two censors were elected to take a census
See Catholicism, Roman of the entire citizen population and its possessions and