Li Zhizao

(1565-1630)

Li Zhizao was born in Hangzhou in 1565 and died in Peking on Nov. 1, 1630. He was a Chinese mathematician, astronomer, and geographer whose translations of European scientific books greatly contributed to the spread of Western science in China.

Originally from a military family, Li was made a jinshi (the highest scholar-official title in imperial China) in 1598. In 1601 he met the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci who baptized him in 1610. He took the Christian name of Leo. He studied under Matteo Ricci and adopted western knowledge and the Catholic doctrine. The scientific knowledge of the Jesuits seems to have impressed Li, who wanted immutable laws to lay out his maps of the world, and found a willingness to accept the immutable, eternal Lord of the Jesuits whose scientific knowledge was so helpful to him.

In 1611, Li Zhizao (on his way to his father's funeral), invited Fr Lazzaro Cattaneo to preach in Hangzhou. Fr Cattaneo went there. During the persecution of 1616 Cattaneo went into hiding in Jiading. He returned to Hangzhou in 1622 and stayed there until he died in 1640. Li Zhizao (like Xu Guangqi) were true missionaries. They announced to others the gift of faith they had received.

In 1613, Li assumed a position as an official in Nanking and worked with Xu Guangqi. Both men edited and translated numerous Christian literatures into Chinese. Li Zhizao saw the importance of opening up to the Western world. Li was eager to translate Western literature into Chinese. He helped to translate Matteo Ricci's books into Chinese. At a certain moment Li proposed that an institution should be set up to translate books from European languages into Chinese.

His works included : numerous engraved and printed copies of Ricci's world map, which altered many Chinese views’ of world geography. Li and Ricci translated Christopher Clavius's arithmetic primer “Epitome arithmeticae practicae” “Selected Arithmetic Methods” as Tongwen suanzhi, printed in 1614. This book systematically introduced European-style mathematical notation, while Li included complementary elements from traditional Chinese mathematics. He also brought together and published in 1629 a series of books composed by the Jesuits with Chinese help, Tianxue chuhan天學初函. These writings concerning Heavenly Studies are divided into those pertaining to principles 理 (ten works) and to concrete things (objects) 器 (ten works). He completed the Tien-hsueh chu han, a collection of writings by the Jesuits and their colleagues, concerning Christianity and science. Li also wrote many prefaces for the Jesuit writings which he edited.

Conclusion

What attracted Li Zhizao (and other Chinese literati of the time) to Christianity?

4a.	Besides the extraordinary personalities of the Jesuit missionaries (Matteo Ricci in particular), which undoubtedly played a very important role in starting a meaningful dialogue with the Chinese scholars, another vital motive was the historical situation of the time. The majority of Confucian scholars of the late Ming dynasty were disappointed by unsuccessful attempts to find ultimate truth through neo-Confucianism and Buddhism. They were subconsciously looking for a new and different set of ideas that would give an answer to their deep concern with contemporary moral decay and the inability of Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism and other schools of thought, to counter what they saw as a growing and significant problem. Frustrated by the failure of the currently operating schools of thought to rectify both state and individual concerns, Christianity seemed to be accepted not as an alien system of thought but as a return to philosophy and moral principles that were actually rooted in the "true" Confucian tradition. Writings by Li Zhizao and Xu Guangqi emphasize the concept of the "pre-exiting" connection between Confucianism and Christianity. To these well-educated Confucian scholars, understanding and believing in Christianity came easier by identifying God as “the Lord of Heaven” and by following the rules given by Him to become virtuous, much in accordance with the Chinese Classics. For Li Zhizao and the majority of Catholic literati, converting to Christianity was not a betrayal of their culture but a return to their true culture, a re-discovery of the deep values that the Chinese had always possessed and were discovered in the Golden Age, but had moved away from in the age of Neo-Confucianism,Buddhism, and other schools.
4b.	Li Zhizao, being a Chinese cartographer, was very impressed by Matteo Ricci’s maps. Li Zhizao saw in the map the symbol of an orderly heaven and earth. The concept of a an eternal Lord of heaven, creator of heaven and earth was the answer he had been looking for and it fitted very well into the scientific framework the missionaries were bringing.
4c.	Li Zhizao has been named one of the “Three Pillars of Chinese Christianity” alongside Xu Guangqi and Yang Tingyun in justifying Christianity by drawing similarities with Confucianism. The three pillars were true Confucian scholars and became true Christians. They didn’t see any contradiction between Chinese culture and Christianity. Li had discovered that “the Lord of heaven” was the immutable and eternal source of virtue and morality. Li believed that the Chinese always had the moral truths and the right principles; the contemporary moral decay was due to other trends that had led people astray. Li, and all the other Catholic Confucians, saw in Christianity a reminder for them all of how they had moved further from the Golden Age into the contemporary moral decay, and how they could return to their original Confucian roots.
4d.	At the death of Matteo Ricci in Peking (11-May-1610), Li Zhizao showed all his deep filial respect for his teacher, friend and Master. Li presented a petition to the emperor to let the body of Ricci be buried in Peking and behaved as a true Confucian in keeping mourning for his spiritual father. Li was a truly filial man: he served his ruler, his parents, and most importantly, God himself, the true ruler of all.