The Confucian Scholar and the Brahmin Sannyasi: Matteo Ricci’s and Roberto de Nobili’s Adaptation to the Social Customs of the Other Traditions and the Legacies for Today

Abstract

This essay reflects on the adaptation in seventeenth-century China and India in relation to the practice of Jesuit missionaries Matteo Ricci and Roberto de Nobili, especially their adaptation to indigenous social customs. By comparing their praxis, it concludes that their experiments are insightful for today’s comparative theologians in that they embody the commitment to one’s own tradition and creative openness to other traditions. Their stress on friendship as a religious virtue is also evident. A parallel study of the two missionaries illuminates and enriches how we understand them and their adaptation methodology. The first part is an overview of Ricci’s and de Nobili’s missionary activities. The second turns to Ricci’s adaptation in China: the change of clothes, writing as a way of evangelization, and the controversial concubinage issue. The third part reflects upon de Nobili’s praxis in India, specifically the opposition to and defense of his conversion method, which highlights problems in interreligious learning. An evaluation of the adaptation and concerns for future praxis in comparative theology conclude the essay.