As soon as the first Catholic church in the capital was completed, it was given a more concise name "Nantang" than the Xuanwumen Catholic Church by the people of the capital. This was simply because the church was in the south of the capital and there were fewer words for "Nantang".
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As a reward for the mission's efforts, the completion of the South Hall greatly stimulated the members of the mission. In addition to constantly expressing their gratitude to the emperor, the members of the mission were also working hard to please the emperor and the court.
Fan Li'an was in Tianjin at this time, leading the shipbuilders who came with the mission to build ships for the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, he founded the first Western Ship Technology School in Tianjin. He also had an important task, which was to cooperate with the imperial court in setting up a mission to Rome, so he
He often traveled between Beijing and Tianjin. Luo Mingjian worked as his assistant in Beijing and shared a lot of work for him.
Matteo Ricci's main task in his spare time was to build relationships with the royal family, nobles, and upper class society - Fan Li'an and Luo Mingjian now increasingly feel that bringing Matteo Ricci to the capital was a stroke of genius.
.....
Of course, the encounters of the envoys in the Ming Dynasty must be conveyed to Goa and Rome as quickly as possible so that the colonial authorities and the Holy See can understand their glorious achievements. At the same time, a large number of letters are also needed for everyone to talk about: China has
As an old saying goes, keeping wealth hidden from people in one's hometown is like walking in the dark wearing gorgeous clothes. Well, that's what it means. The Seris people can express it with the words "walking at night in fine clothes". The level of civilization simply crushes ours.
Except for a few people such as Ines, almost all the current members of the mission are "Sai Chu". Well, Siris Chu.
All members of the mission are writing letters because they want to brag to their relatives and friends. This is the same reason that in future generations, when someone arrives in the Maldives or Saipan, he must post on WeChat Moments. Not to mention that today’s Ming Dynasty makes everyone in the mission feel
Entered a high civilization, a perfect country ruled by the "sage king" mentioned by Plato.
"Dear His Excellency the Grand Duke of Tuscany: We finally followed the Christian Mission into Seris - China, the country that Mr. Christopher Columbus has been looking for all his life but has not reached. I have not checked the historical data, but it is really possible.
You are the second Florentine to arrive in this country after Marco Polo - I always believe that Venice should also be under your wise rule."
"Dear Your Excellency, please allow me to proudly tell you: Except for some strange people and strange things that have not been confirmed, and some numbers that may be inaccurate, everything about Seris recorded in "Marco Polo's Travels"
There is no exaggeration in all places. As Mr. Marco Polo said before he died, 'What I say is not half of what I see.'"
"Please allow me to report to you what I have seen: First of all, this is a country full of wealth and silk. It is so rich here! I can give you a simple example: In your principality, a piece of silk ten palms square is worth at least two francs.
Lorraine, and nearly everyone in this country wears silk, which, I hear, was cheaper here just ten years ago than fine cotton."
"In Europe, porcelain that ordinary people can't afford is just an ordinary dinner plate here. Because porcelain is everywhere, I can buy a beautiful plate for the price of a hundred eggs, and the guy who sells the plate keeps insisting
He thanked me so much, as if he was the one who took advantage."
"Therefore, I often stare at the porcelain all over the house in the house I live in - imagining how I would feel surrounded by these lovely things at home in Florence. We saw each other more than once when we passed through the southern cities of the Ming Dynasty.
I've been to porcelain dealers and I can swear to you that they have assured us many times that they can fire porcelain with any pattern, even your portrait on a plate."
"There are too many people here! I dare say that we passed by at least five large cities with a population of more than one million. As for cities with a population of more than 100,000, Your Excellency, these are at most prosperous counties. In this country, below the province
Counties, below them are villages and towns. I don’t know if my explanation is accurate. And in the capital of any province, the population exceeds 500,000."
"Your Excellency, the Mongol Empire that once brought fear to Europe has long been defeated by the Saris people. The Saris people have restored their territory - many times larger than when it was captured by the Mongols. The head of our mission, Fan Li'an
When I was in Hangzhou with Luo Mingjian, I was told and confirmed in the capital of the empire that this empire is now one-fifth larger than Europe, and His Majesty the Emperor is not yet satisfied with its current territory."
"I must tell you frankly that the strength of this empire far exceeds that of the Mongol Empire. This summer, the emperor has issued an edict to King Zhongshun outside the Great Wall and the leader of the Yerqiang Khanate, ordering them to come to Beijing to pay tribute to him
, and accept the reward from the imperial court - in fact, the emperor wants to include the entire Mongolian grassland plus all the territory north of the Tianshan Mountains and all the way to the Mughal border."
"In my opinion, although China fully has this strength, it is completely unnecessary. There is not a total population of two million in this land - please forgive me, my view of numbers has changed greatly since I came to China.
Change—and it’s all barren land that barely produces food.”
"But the emperor insisted on having his own way, and I heard that the ministers who opposed it had been dismissed from their posts. Mr. Ines said that it would be at least half successful - because King Shunyi on the Mongolian grassland had already frightened Han Naji by the Seris army.
Courage. When I wrote this letter, I heard that he himself would arrive in the capital."
"As for the Western Region, Mr. Ines said it depends on how much determination and money the empire spends. The one who leads the Empire's Western Region troops is General Ma Fang, one of the strongest generals in the Empire. If he sends troops, as long as the logistics can keep up, it should be possible.
Capture Yarkand, the capital of the Yeerqiang Khanate."
"This spring, just when we entered the capital to meet the emperor, Tumen Zhasak Tuhan, who was very close to the capital and occupied the province now renamed Jehol, had already seen God under a powerful military attack - China has seen God since the 20th century.
Five provinces became twenty-six."
"Your Majesty the Grand Duke, you must be wondering why I know so much about these things, because there are newspapers. There are two newspapers in the capital now, and these news are openly published in them, making them a topic of conversation among the people of Seris."
"The newspaper said that the ninth son of the old Khan of the Yeerqiang Kingdom, Abdureim, was not convinced by his nephew's rule and launched the Jingnan War. I don't know how the emperor will view this rebellion - because he
This is how his ancestor took away the throne that belonged to his nephew."
"Finally, let's talk about the emperor. Please allow me to describe to you the monarch of the Seris people - because of the early death of the previous emperor, he inherited the throne at the age of ten. In the first five years of his succession, the empire mainly relied on
The current Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng is here to govern."
"In the fifth year of Wanli, the emperor showed extraordinary courage - he started changes within the empire. I don't know what China looked like before the changes, but I can report to you how much the empire expanded after the changes.
At the beginning of his accession, the Chinese emperor had two capitals and thirteen provinces—some of which were larger than the entire Apennines."
"It is now the tenth year of Wanli, the eleventh year since the emperor succeeded to the throne. The empire now has twenty-six provinces. After capturing Rehe, if the emperor's threats succeed, his empire may become three provinces.
Ten provinces - the newly occupied land is at least the size of four large provinces."
"Your Majesty the Grand Duke, this letter of mine may remind you of Europeans' bad memories of the Yellow Peril. I sincerely suggest that you don't have to worry. I say from the bottom of my heart that His Majesty the Emperor is replacing barbarism with a great civilization and a
A great institution that replaces cruelty and loves his 'child' with unparalleled kindness. Yes, that's it."
"Of course, as for why I say this, I hope I can explain it clearly to you in the next letter. After all, this letter is already too long."