Diego de Pantoja
Encyclopedia
Diego de Pantoja or Diego Pantoja, Chinese: 龐迪我, or Pang Diwo 龐迪我 , (1571, Valdemoro
Valdemoro
Valdemoro is a municipal district, located in the Southern zone of the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain. Located 27 kilometers from the capital, Valdemoro is officially part of the comarca of La Sagra, though it is generally also included in the Madrid metropolitan area.The municipality has...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 - January 1618, Macao
Mação
Mação is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 400.0 km² and a total population of 7,763 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of eight parishes, and is located in the Santarém District....

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

) was a Spanish Jesuit and missionary to China who is best known for having accompanied Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....

 in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. His name also appears in some sources as Didaco Pantoia.

He came to Macao
Mação
Mação is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 400.0 km² and a total population of 7,763 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of eight parishes, and is located in the Santarém District....

 on 20 July 1597. There he received his final instructions for his work in China at São Paulo Jesuit University. He was then sent to the Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

's southern capital, Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

, where he stayed from March 1600. He worked together with Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....

. Together, they left Nanjing on 19 May 1600 and arrived at the Ming dynasty's Northern and overall capital, Beijing, on 24 January 1601.

He worked in Beijing for many years, among others, as a musician, astronomer
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 (with calendar corrections) and geographer
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

 (working with latitude).

On 18 March 1617, he was tried as an enemy of the Chinese astronomers, and was expelled from China, along with his colleague, Sabatino de Ursis
Sabatino de Ursis
Sabatino de Ursis was an Italian Jesuit who was active in 17th-century China, during the Jesuit China missions.-Career:...

, and settled down in Macao, where he stayed for the short time before his death.

Literature

  • L. Carrington Goodrich & Chao-Ying Fang (ed.): Dictionary of Ming Biography, 2 ed., New York/London: Columbia University Press 1976
  • Gianni Criveller: Preaching Christ in Late Ming China: The Jesuits' Presentation of Christ from Matteo Ricci to Giulio Aleni, Taipei:Taipei Ricci Institute 1997 ISBN 2-910969-02-9
  • Trigault, Nicolas
    Nicolas Trigault
    Nicolas Trigault was a Flemish Jesuit, and a missionary to China. He was also known by his latinised name Trigautius or Trigaultius, and his Chinese name Jīn Nígé .-Life and work:...

     S. J. "China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Mathew Ricci: 1583-1610". English translation by Louis J. Gallagher
    Louis J. Gallagher
    Louis J. Gallagher, SJ was an American Jesuit, known for his educational and literary work.-Biography:Born in Boston, Louis J...

    , S.J. (New York: Random House, Inc. 1953). This is an English translation of the Latin work, De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas
    De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas
    De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu is a book based on an Italian manuscript written by the most important founding figure of the Jesuit China mission, Matteo Ricci , expanded and translated into Latin by his colleague Nicolas Trigault...

    based on Matteo Ricci
    Matteo Ricci
    Matteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....

    's journals completed by Nicolas Trigault
    Nicolas Trigault
    Nicolas Trigault was a Flemish Jesuit, and a missionary to China. He was also known by his latinised name Trigautius or Trigaultius, and his Chinese name Jīn Nígé .-Life and work:...

    . Ricci and Pantoja's trip to Beijing is described on pp. 354-399. There is also full Latin text available on Google Books.

See also

  • Jesuit China missions
    Jesuit China missions
    The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a significant role in continuing the transmission of...

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