By Edward J. Malatesta
In 1985, the Ricci Institute was honoured to welcome a senior research fellow, Father
Albert Chan, S.J., who arrived from Hong Kong with the Chinese Library of the Society
of Jesus. The library, built up over some 40 years by Father Chan, is a highly rated,
specialized collection of 70,000 volumes in Chinese. The Ricci Institute became a part of
the newly established Centre for the Pacific Rim of the USF in 1988.
Throughout the eleven years since its foundation, with the generous financial support of
various foundations, business institutions, the Society of Jesus, USF and many
individuals, the Ricci institute has engaged in the study of the history of cultural exchange
between China and the West. Through its research and publications, lectures and
symposia, in cooperation with individual scholars and other academic institutions, the
Ricci Institute seeks to foster better understanding between China and the West.
Some of the major publications with which the Ricci Institute has been involved include the first complete Chinese-English edition of Matteo Ricci's True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven (Tianzhu Shiyi), Shanghai Library Catalog of Western Rare Books, 100 Roman Documents Concerning the Chinese Rites Controversy, Proceedings of the Colloque International de Sinologie de Chantilly (1983, 1986, 1989, 1992), and The Chinese Rites Controversy: its history and meaning, in addition to numerous articles on Chinese-Western Cultural History in scholarly journals, books, and encyclopaedias. At the present time, the Ricci Institute is preparing a supplement to Christianity in China, a Scholar's Guide to Resources in the Libraries and Archives in the United States. Besides presentations at national and international conferences, the Ricci Institute has delivered lectures on cultural, historical, and religious issues between China and the West at the Sheshan Regional Seminary of Shanghai, Fudan University, in Shanghai, Beijing University in Shanghai, Beijing University, and many more. The Ricci Institute has also sponsored or co-sponsored such well-known international conferences as the Colloque International de Sinologie de Chantilly, International Symposium on the Chinese Rites Controversy and, most recently, "Religion and Culture," an International Symposium commemorating the fourth centenary of St. Paul's University College of Macao.
Christianity in China database
Recently, the Ricci Institute initiated a new project Ä The Ricci 21st Century Round
Table, a computerized database for the history of Christianity in China. The database,
linked to the Internet's World Wide Web, will provide information concerning the
encounter between the Christian faith and Chinese culture from its earliest stages in the
7th century until today. Attempts will be made to see that the database is as complete as
possible: Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy will all be treated. Entries
will include approximately 50,000 persons, places, institutions, a bibliography of all
published sorces and lists of archival materials in all language, images from Christian art,
architecture, and written works, and Christian music. An academic bulletin board will
also list contemporary scholars, their current research, and planned meetings. The Ricci
Institute will be the home-site of the database and all the information will be stored at
USF. Data entry stations will be staffed by colleagues around the world.
Staff and affiliations
The present staff of the Ricci Institute consists of Edward Malatesta, S.J., director; Albert
Chan, S.J., senior research fellow; Xiaoxin Wu, Ed.D, assistant director/research fellow;
Mark Mir, research fellow/Chinese Library cataloguer, Sister Mary Celeste Rouleau,
R.S.M., archivist; and a student administrative assistant. In addition, the Ricci Institute is
affiliated to the Ricci Institute for Chinese Studies in Taipei and Institut Ricci - Centre
d'Études Chinoises in Paris, and enjoys the collaboration of research associates in
China, Japan, Europe, and the United States.
In the spirit of a Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning, and after the example
of the person whose name it bears, the Ricci Institute endeavours to promote a mutually
beneficial encounter between Chinese culture and the Christian faith.
For more information, please contact:
Edward J. Malatesta, S.J., Director
Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History
University of San Francisco
2130 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117-1080
USA
Tel: +1-415-666-6401
Fax: +1-415-666-2291
E-mail: wu@usfca.edu
Homepage
IIAS Newsletter
IIASN-7
East Asia