In May 1610, in Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, in the east corner of Xuanwumen, in the mansion purchased by the Jesuit China Mission for 500 taels of silver, Father Matteo Ricci was seriously ill. He was lying in bed unable to see. .
His illness was caused by overworking and overworking every day. His main job was to receive visitors and visit various high-ranking officials and scribes. Matteo Ricci had a full schedule every day, and he didn't even have time to eat. Usually, he receives about twenty posts a day. On special days, such as the New Year, he has to meet with more than a hundred guests a day. Matteo Ricci also has to follow the minimum courtesy and make return visits. Although these social activities are very exciting. It was very tiring and involved long conversations. However, Matteo Ricci found these contacts very valuable for the missionary work. All the people who came were exposed to Catholicism.
Matteo Ricci had just arrived at the capital of the Ming Empire. After realizing his long-cherished wish, he discovered with his keen observation that the Ming Empire was in crisis. For several years, people had been convincing Matteo Ricci that he wanted to spread the word in China. The most important thing for Catholicism is to obtain the approval of the emperor. With this protective umbrella, the fledgling church can avoid the interference of unfriendly officials. Once the missionary enterprise obtains the approval of the emperor, it is possible to form a Catholic Church. movement. After gaining first-hand understanding of the real political situation, Matteo Ricci came up with the idea of revising his missionary strategy. Matteo Ricci saw with his own eyes the true situation of the emperor: Emperor Wanli was not an authoritative emperor. .But a corrupt, cowardly monarch. The ruler of an empire that is about to perish. The entire empire is controlled by a group of eunuchs and is about to enter its death path.
Matteo Ricci's Catholic missionary work began to focus on the scribes, thus affecting the court, local officials and the common people. His missionary strategy was successful. When he was in Shaozhou, he was the only priest left. Until his death By that time, he had already established four Jesuit missionary sites in China. The church was hospitalized and had 58 European priests and nearly 2,000 believers. The most important among the believers were Jinshi, Juren, Shengmin and current officials. It seems that the number of people is small, but the impact is huge.
Now, he is about to bid farewell to the Chinese missionary career he founded and report to God about his work.
Matteo Ricci forced himself out of bed and insisted on praying for the last time in front of the cross. He took a prescription prescribed by a famous doctor in the capital a few days ago. Instead of getting better, his condition worsened day by day. At this time, he had a premonition that he He was about to die. Father Long Huamin, who had just been appointed as the next president of the China Missionary Society, helped him lie down on the bed.
Matteo Ricci sighed and said to Long Huamin in Latin: "I have heard God's call. My dear Nicholas, my mission in China has ended." Matteo Ricci's weak eyes suddenly flickered. Another bright light came out: "I seem to hear the voice of Brother Baradas. Nicholas, please go and see if it is him."
Long Huamin was born in a declining aristocratic family in Sicily, Italy. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1582 and came to China as a missionary in 1597. He first arrived in Macao and presided over the teaching affairs in Guangdong. In terms of missionary methods, he adopted the same methods as most people who came to China at that time. Missionaries have different paths. He advocates openly going into society, developing believers, and requiring converts to abandon traditional Chinese customs. This is different from Matteo Ricci’s missionary policy of respecting Chinese customs and slow progress. But he has a deep understanding of Matteo Ricci’s Respect comes from the heart. The Chinese Missionary Society is what it is today, all thanks to the efforts of Matteo Ricci.
He nodded, got up and went out. Not long after, he brought Father Pandit, Taiwanese Bishop Baradas, Chinese monks Fei Zangyu, Zhong Mingren, etc. to Matteo Ricci's bedside.
Everyone made the sign of the cross. Matteo Ricci nodded and smiled. He couldn't wait to ask Taiwanese Bishop Baradas: "Has your science-loving master agreed to our request to open a church in Ryukyu?"
Baradas replied respectfully: "Captain Yin has agreed to our request to build a church in Naha Port. However, at the same time, he also asked the Dutch to build Protestant churches in Taiwan, and let the Jews build their synagogues, as well as Buddhism. Temples for Christians, Taoists, and Muslims have been completely banned in Taiwan."
Matteo Ricci lay back on the bed and sighed: "It seems that the actual ruler of coastal China has no inclination towards religion. So, he just likes the European science we brought, not the Our religion.”
"It seems that is indeed what happened." Baradas escaped from his arms and handed a book to Matteo Ricci. However, Matteo Ricci no longer had the energy to read it, so he just flipped through it.
"Dear Father Leakey (Matteo Ricci's original name). This book is "Elements of Geometry" printed with Taiwan's permanent movable type."
Matteo Ricci was very surprised and said: "Could it be that Taiwan has reprinted "Elements of Geometry"? Is it the manuscript provided by Brother Paul Xu (Xu Guangqi)?"
Baradas shook his head: "No. This is Captain Yin's translation from the Portuguese version of "Elements of Geometry" into Chinese after he returned from Japan. The translation is not complete. It only accounts for about one-half of the original text. This The version is different from the one translated by you and Brother Paul Xu. It focuses on mathematical principles and exercises with examples. It is used as a teaching material in Captain Yin’s school.”
Matteo Ricci was startled. His weak body suddenly sat up. Long Huamin, Pang Diwo, Zhong Mingren, who were waiting on the side, rushed over to support him. Matteo Ricci turned to the first few pages of the Taiwanese version of "Elements of Geometry" in his hand. Zhang read it in a hurry, with a strange look on his face. He handed the book to Long Huamin. As a result, Long Huamin also looked confused after reading it.
The first six volumes of "Elements of Geometry" translated by Xu Guangqi deleted some examples and were not published. The Taiwan version restored all these contents. It was obviously used as a teaching practice in the classroom. At the same time... the Taiwan version also has a lot of benefits Matthew and Xu Guangqi had not yet had time to translate the content of the last nine volumes. At the same time, Yin Feng benefited from the good mathematics education in junior high and high schools at that time. He used a large number of Greek letters into the formula explanations. He also directly stole the calculation symbols of later generations. This book has rigorous logical reasoning and is a complete system of "Elements of Geometry" based on axioms, postulates, and definitions. After Yin Feng introduced later Greek and Latin alphabetical symbols and arithmetic symbols, it became clearer, more organized, and easier to understand.
This simply shocked Matteo Ricci and others present. After "Elements" was translated into Chinese, it only aroused the interest of a small number of scholars. Many people simply could not accept Euclid's strict logical system. "Elements" The logical reasoning method represented by "Elements of Geometry", coupled with scientific experiments, is an important prerequisite for the emergence and development of modern science in the world. In other words, the significance of "Elements of Geometry" is not only in mathematics, but more importantly in terms of thinking methods. "Elements of Geometry" provides a narrative method for a complete set of theorem systems based on axioms and postulates. It is far from the practical narrative method of ancient Chinese mathematical works.
Matteo Ricci once wrote in a letter to the Jesuit headquarters that at that time there were only two people in China who truly understood the content of "Elements": Xu Guangqi and Li Zhizao.
Now, Yin Feng, the boss and general manager of the Taiwan Chinese United Company, has become the third one. In fact, Yin Feng just read the Portuguese version of "Elements of Geometry" while recalling the contents of mathematics learned in middle school. It was translated carelessly in this way; of course .Only based on the opinions of Father Baradas and some Europeans.
Matteo Ricci sighed: "It's too late. I really should go to Taiwan to see this mysterious ship owner. Nicholas. You must go and get to know this friend. He now controls the ship in East Asia." Ocean. Will probably become a big shot. You should go and befriend him. Oh. He has a Catholic wife. Right."
Baradas nodded: "Yes. This wife is from Manila. She was baptized in the Monastery of St. Francis."
Matteo Ricci seemed to have exhausted all his energy and lay down weakly. After breathing heavily for a while, he opened his eyes and murmured: "Father Baradas, you must become friends with Captain Yin Feng. He is really..." "He seemed to have fallen asleep before he finished speaking.
On May 9, 1610, according to Catholic custom, Matteo Ricci received the Last Eucharist on his sick bed. The next day, he received the Last Holy Eucharist. On the evening of May 11 (the 19th day of the third month in the lunar calendar) (about 67 p.m. At that time). All the staff of the Jesuit Mission in China in Beijing expressed their condolences for the death of this "saint" and "China's St. Thomas". The Chinese monk painter Zhong Mingren painted Matteo Ricci's remains--- This work was done by You Wenhui in the original historical time and space. But now You Wenhui was sent to Europe by Yin Feng. The job fell to Zhong Mingren, who also had good painting talent.
Li Zhizao was ill at home at this time. He sent an errand to inform the church not to pay for the coffin. He personally was willing to provide all funeral expenses. Two days later, Matteo Ricci's body was put into the coffin. The coffin was carried to the church. After the mass, it was carried again. Return to your apartment and place it on the mourning platform for everyone to express their condolences.
At this moment, Yin Feng in Taiwan Port does not know yet; the Jesuit China Missionary Society has regarded Taiwan missionary work as one of the key areas for missionary work in China. After Long Huamin took over as president, he chose to go to Taiwan for the first time. inspection.
Yin Feng is reorganizing the army: he has fully promoted the implementation of the military rank system within the Chinese Army. Starting from the three-level non-commissioned officer ranks of corporal, sergeant, and staff sergeant, all the way to the school level. Basically, Yin Feng copied and embezzled it from later generations. Military rank designation.
At the same time, military academies began to be classified. As the overall structure of Taiwan's military academies, they were divided into sergeant schools, officer schools, artillery technical schools, naval schools, etc. At the same time, the recruit training system was also improved. Every soldier was recruited into the army. Finally, whether they are combat soldiers, auxiliary soldiers such as communication personnel, or logistics soldiers, they must undergo rigorous training. The recruits will then be graded according to their training results and arranged to enter the grassroots level of the army.
Recruit training mainly includes 8 major items such as military etiquette, bayonet training, command training, field training, internal guard training, shooting and grenade training, review, and review. It lasts for about two months; then the recruits are trained after they go to the grassroots units. The content focuses on four major categories: weapons training, physical fitness training, defense training, and field training.
Although there is no definite information yet, the Spanish counterattack on Manila is imminent.