The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.68 (548 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0140080988 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 368 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-02-06 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Five Stars The author knows his stuff.. An enlightening history As I grow older, I worry sometimes about the aging 'muscle' in my head. I had noticed that Thomas Harris mentioned this book in the back of his novel Hannibal, so I ordered it; Not to be like the fictional Dr. Lecter, but rather to develop my memory and keep it honed. This is book about history, about discipline, about a passion. Spence knows his stuff, to be sure, but I find his style to be aggravating--the research is phenomnal and very much appreciated, but there are times when it interrupts the flow of the read. This is the only reason I give it four stars instead of fiv. A Customer said A fascinating book!. I loved this book. The mixture of history, mneumonic device, theology, missionary activity, and social and political thought is entrancing. Dr. Spence has displayed the cultural and spiritual ethos, not only of the title character, but of an era, place and time. The breadth of scholarship is impressive, as are the language and imagery used to present it. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the material presented, but am so intrigued, now, by the period, that I soon will be able to. I highly recommend this book.
He teaches at Yale University. . His awards include a Guggenheim and a MacArthur Fellowship. Jonathan Spence's eleven books on Chinese history include The Gate of Heavenly Peace, Treason by the Book, and The Death of Woman Wang
In order to make a persuasive argument for the educated Chinese to abandon their traditional faith for the new one he was carrying, Ricci realized that he would have to prove the general superiority of Western culture. Ricci attracted numerous students with this method; more important, Ricci came to have a sympathetic understanding for China that he communicated to Rome, and thence to the European nations at large. Matteo Ricci (1552-1616), an Italian Jesuit, entered China in 1583 to spread Catholicism in the largely Confucian count
To capture the complex emotional and religious drama of Ricci's extraordinary life, Jonathan Spence relates his subject's experiences with several images that Ricci himself created—four images derived from the events in the Bible and others from a book on the art of memory that Ricci wrote in Chinese and circulated among members of the Ming dynasty elite. A rich and compelling narrative about a fascinating life, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci is also a significant work of global history, juxtaposing the world of Counter-Refo