Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 84 Memorial
In May of the 35th year of the Wanli reign, Matteo Ricci died in Beijing. According to Ming custom, Jesuit missionaries who died in China were to be repatriated to Macau for burial. However, other missionaries and those baptized by Ricci sought imperial permission to be buried in Beijing.

To this end, Father Pang Diwo submitted a sincere and humble memorial to the Wanli Emperor, hoping that he would make an exception and grant him land to bury Matteo Ricci:

It is truly pitiful that Matteo Ricci died of old age and illness.

Moreover, since I, Matteo Ricci, entered the holy dynasty, I have gradually accustomed myself to the culture of Ximing, read books and mastered the principles, and have been pious day and night, burning incense to pray to heaven and praising the emperor. My heart is loyal and devoted to repaying the emperor's kindness, and the people of the capital are all aware of it, and I dare not exaggerate.

During his lifetime, he was known for his love of learning and his ability to write many books.

He was a well-known person in the coastal country before, and when he came to the upper country, he was also praised by the gentry.

We, the humble officials from foreign countries, are saddened that they have no place to be buried after their death. We shed tears and pray to Heaven for mercy. Please grant us a few acres of vacant land or a few spare rooms in abandoned temples so that the remains of the foreigners can be buried.

And we, the ministers, see that these four persons are able to depend on each other in life and death, strictly abide by the rules of the religion, enjoy the blessing of peace in the paradise of the Celestial Empire, and also repay their loyalty as ants and foreign ministers.

Although there were some people in the court who opposed it, after efforts from all parties, it was finally approved by Emperor Wanli.

In the 36th year of the Wanli reign, the emperor granted Matteo Ricci a burial at Tenggong Fence in Erligou outside Fuchengmen, presided over by Xu Guangqi.

"Nicholas Trigo. When did you come to China?" Guo Jujing and Ginni Ge walked side by side on the road to Tenggong Fence, followed by several young people who had just arrived in China.

"I graduated from the University of Douai in 1607, and that same year I was sent to the Far East by the Jesuits. I arrived in Macau in 1610," Ginnigue thought for a moment. "I stayed there for just over two years before being sent back to Europe by Abbot Niccolò Longobardi to report to the Vatican."

"I see." Guo Jujing nodded. "Then you must have never met Matteo Ricci."

"I have long heard of the president's name and wanted to come to China to meet him, but human wishes cannot defeat fate." Ginni sighed with a sad face.

"Do you know why the comrades who stayed in the capital at that time insisted on burying Matteo Ricci here?" Guo Jujing asked again.

"I think the answer is not as simple as being buried in peace." Ginni shrugged.

"A proper burial is of course important. Matteo Ricci passed away in May. It would have been tragic to have transported him all the way from Beijing to Macau." Guo Jujing was unable to attend Matteo Ricci's funeral. However, after making inquiries, he gained a general understanding of the burial process.

Guo Jujing pointed to the Tenggong Fence right before his eyes and said, "In fact, this cemetery, besides being the burial place of Matteo Ricci, also has an important symbolic meaning."

"What's the symbolic meaning?" Ginni was puzzled.

"A place to stand." Guo Jujing switched from Italian to Chinese smoothly.

"Where can I stand?" Ginni asked back in Chinese, but his southern accent was very thick.

"In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was an unparalleled existence. Being allowed to be buried in Beijing as a Christian by the emperor meant that the emperor did not reject my religion and did not regard it as a cult." The closer Guo Jujing got to the cemetery, the sadder he became.

"Legitimacy?" Ginnige understood. "Matteo Ricci wants to continue contributing to the Holy Church after his death." Guo Jujing sighed. "This recognition is not permanent. The emperor speaks the law, and his words are the law. He can grant or take away."

"Are you talking about the Nanjing Incident?" Ginni's knowledge of the Nanjing Incident was limited to what others had told him.

In the first month of the 41st year of the Wanli reign, Ginnig left China for Europe. He arrived in the Far East again in June of the 47th year of the Wanli reign, resuming his journey through China. He stayed in China for just over a year, spending most of that time in Macau.

It was not until the late Emperor's death that he was dispatched from Macau to Nanjing by Long Huamin. Surprisingly, less than two months after his arrival in Nanjing, he was brought to Beijing by Johann Adam Schall von Bell. Thus, he almost perfectly avoided the Nanjing Incident of the 44th year of the Wanli reign and its negative impact.

"I'm just talking about the teaching plan." Guo Jujing took out the Chinese offerings he had prepared and placed them one by one in front of Matteo Ricci's tombstone. Then he found a few thin, dry sticks and built a simple firewood pile in front of the tombstone. After completing all this, Guo Jujing took out a tinderbox, squatted down, lit the firewood pile, and began to burn paper money.

"What are you doing?" Jin Ni Ge had never seen the Chinese way of memorializing a deceased person.

"I'm commemorating my deceased friend by setting out wine, meat, and burning paper money," Guo Jujing handed a stack of paper money to Ginnigo. "This is the Chinese way. And I am Chinese now, a believer in Jesus Christ, with white hair and blue eyes. If I die, I want to be buried here, too."

Jin Nige hesitated for a moment, but still took the paper money and squatted beside the fire with Guo Jujing. "You arrived a week earlier than me, so you must have been here before. But there's no sign of anything being burned here. You brought me here today. Besides commemorating your dear friend, do you have another purpose?"

"If you had chosen to refuse just now, I would have just completed today's memorial service in silence. But you accepted it, so I told you this." The projection of the flame danced in Guo Jujing's eyes, illuminating the perseverance and determination in his pupils.

Jin Ni Ge did not respond, but instead imitated Guo Jujing's actions and threw paper money into the fire.

"Niccolò Longobardi is a traitor, and I will soon become a traitor." Guo Jujing's voice was as indifferent as the snow in the winter month.

"." Upon hearing this, Jin Ni Ge frowned.

"As I said earlier, the emperor holds the power of heaven, his words are the law. He can grant or take away. Why did the emperor agree to grant this place to my religion? Because Matteo Ricci was a vassal from a distant land who was loyal to the emperor. The person whom the emperor allowed to be buried in Beijing was not a believer, but a subject."

"Who are the subjects? Those who respect the emperor of China, follow Chinese traditions, and speak the Chinese language are the people of China and the subjects of the emperor." Ginni Ge did not speak, so Guo Jujing asked and answered himself.

"That's why Matteo Ricci was buried near the capital, at the feet of the emperor. But Matteo Ricci's successor didn't want to be a Chinese citizen. Niccolò Longobardi betrayed his master and, as the head of the Society of Jesus in China, ordered all believers to abandon the 'Ricci Rule' and forbid Chinese believers from offering sacrifices to heaven, ancestors, or Confucius."

"He's labeling the Jesuits a cult!" Guo Jujing sighed. "This is our last chance. If we don't put things right and displease the new emperor, we'll lose our place to live and be flogged on the first day of the winter month!"

"So you want to overthrow President Niccolò Longobardi?" Ginni finally spoke.

"Yes, legally speaking, Niccolò Longobardi was appointed by the Holy See. So I am also a traitor." Guo Jujing's face was as cold as ice.

"Why are you looking for me?" Jin Ni Ge looked at Guo Jujing with a scrutinizing look.

"Because you and the forty-odd young people you brought with you are the only centrists." Guo Jujing raised his glass and poured the wine into the fire, and flames immediately shot up into the sky.

(End of this chapter)