He wondered why they had come. He had seen a map one of them had drawn — a man named Matteo Ricci — and it showed the world unlike it had ever appeared on a Chinese map. Curious, he went into the hall, and saw there a crucifix. Xu Guangqi bowed low in reverence before it, hardly knowing why. A foreigner came into the room and introduced himself, and they talked. Xu Guangqi was impressed by the good manners of the man, Lazarro Cattaneo, a Jesuit who had come to China to announce the good news of Christ.
As Matteo Ricci and the other first Jesuits in China found out, proclaiming the Gospel there was a far different thing than it was in Europe. China was an old, cultured country, with a civilization that others admired and copied. Outsiders were looked upon with suspicion and as possible threats to authority and order. It took years for the Jesuits to gain a foothold in South China, and their first permanent mission was the small church that Xu Guangqi happened upon, or was providentially led to, that day in 1596.
The seed then planted lay dormant until 1600, when Xu Guangqi sought out Matteo Ricci, who was by then living in Nanjing on the Yangzi River, for a short conversation during which, according to Fr. Ricci, he spoke briefly to Xu Guangqi about God. In January, 1604, Xu Guangqi, on his way to his home in Shanghai for the spring festival celebrations of the lunar new year, came through Nanjing again and stopped, hoping to see Matteo Ricci. But by this time the missionary had gone on to Beijing. Xu was met instead by Joao da Rocha, a Portuguese Jesuit, who gave him a catechism and an introduction to Christian principles by Fr. Ricci to read.
Fr. Rocha was astonished when Xu Guangqi returned the next day, having sat up all night reading, asking to be baptized. Instead, Fr. da Rocha gave him more books to study and told him to come daily for a week for instruction, and then, if he still desired, he could be baptized. Xu Guangqi came back twice a day, and at the end of that time Fr. da Rocha baptized him, in late January of 1604, and gave him the baptismal name Paul.
A humble, generous, and upright man, Xu Guangqi became Matteo Ricci's good friend and collaborator in translating Western scientific and religious works into Chinese. Through all the remaining years of his life, he was one of the most steadfast supporters of the fledgling Christian Church in China. He eventually rose to the highest office of the land, Grand Secretary, and made it a priority to help the missionaries and the Church in every way he could.
Xu Guangqi enthusiastically introduced his friends and acquaintances to his new faith, and many were baptized. Among the first were his father, wife, and son, all of whom became fervent Christians. The first 50 Christians in Shanghai were men brought to the faith by the powerful witness of Xu Guangqi. When a persecution against Christians erupted in 1616 in Nanjing, Xu Guangqi promptly wrote a petition to the Emperor, insisting on the goodness of Christianity and the Christian missionaries. He argued that their presence and their religion would benefit the empire and offered to receive the same punishment meted out to them if any charge could be proven against them.
Xu Guangqi was known for his devotion, goodness and holiness of life. He had found the pearl of great price, and he tried to tell everyone he knew about it and share the treasure of Christianity with them. For Chinese Christians then and now, and for Christians everywhere, Xu Guangqi is an example of fearless witness to the faith and unashamed sharing of the Good News.
(For more on China and Christianity click here.)
