The Tongnian Network in Matteo Ricci’s Intellectual Network

Wang Honghui (1542-1615), Minister of Rites in Nanjing in the 1590s, was a crucial intermediary between Ricci and the literati. They met in Shaozhou in 1593. Nanjing, the Southern Capital of the Ming Dynasty, was a very important step during Ricci’s stay in China, before reaching Beijing. In 1599, he stayed over one year in Nanjing, where he met many literati through Wang Honghui. Wang was one of the two Presidents of the Capital Examinations (huishi) in 1589, when Jiao Hong (1540-1620) graduated as Optimus (zhuangyuan). Jiao Hong was a close friend of the famous scholar Li Zhi (1527-1602), whom Ricci met twice in Nanjing. The Imperial Examinations of 1589 includes successful candidates Wang Kentang (1549-1613), Zhu Shilu (1539-1610), who contributed a few years later to the diffusion of Ricci’s works or helped him prepare his trip to Beijing. Jiao Hong became in 1597 Chief Examiner of the provincial examinations in Beijing, which Xu Guangqi (1562-1633), future disciple of Ricci, successfully passed. Some of the old students, subordinates or collaborators of Wang Honghui in Nanjing continued to protect Ricci during his stay in Beijing in the last decade of his life. This paper will show the role played by the tongnian network of 1589 in Ricci’s own intellectual network and the importance of master-disciple relationships in the formation of this type of network.