Matteo Ricci Arrives in Macao

1582

The Jesuit Matteo Ricci landed at Macao with orders to penetrate Ming China. He dressed in a Buddhist monk's robes, then switched to Confucian scholar's robes, and set about learning Mandarin. His patient, scholarly diplomacy would eventually carry him all the way to the court of Beijing. Ricci's strategy of cultural accommodation, wearing Confucian robes and mastering Chinese classics, became the most sophisticated missionary approach of the era.