Matteo Ricci and Olaudah Equiano: Intermediary Cultural Figure

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Matteo Ricci and Olaudah Equiano
Matteo Ricci and Olaudah Equiano were influential in their role as cultural interpreters in the age of early modern globalization. While documenting his capture and enslavement experiences, Olaudah Equiano, an accomplished writer, worked and explored the British Atlantic world and subsequently championed the abolishment of slavery. Olaudah was a pioneering and most influential Black political activists of his generation. On the other hand, Matteo Ricci was a prominent character of the Jesuit Movement who accelerated Christianity's penetration among the Chinese. Western missionaries had repeatedly failed to create a foothold in China. However, Matteo, together with his companions, was given the green light to establish a church per the Chinese laws. Both Matteo and Olaudah acted in different capacities. However, they had the desire to create change in their respective missions.
Born on October 6, 1552, Matteo was an Italian Jesuit missionary who spearheaded the Christian gospel entrance among the Chinese people in the 16th century. He established his presence for nearly 30 years in China and was involved in the attempt at mutual comprehension between the West and China. To gain entrance into the Chinese territory, Matteo adopted their culture and language in a usually closed nation for foreigners (Mong 386). Ricci was gifted with languages, outstanding memory, and an impeccable scholarly mind, which enabled him to become a leading voice in China.
Since Matteo chose his missionary role, he had a compelling idea of introducing Christianity to the Chinese. One legacy that Ricci created was to make Christianity comprehensible in the Confucian language. When explaining his goal in China, he often used the agricultural metaphor. Instead of planting the fruits, he envisioned himself cultivating the Chinese soil to enable Christianity to succeed. To him, the process of cultivating the ground encompassed Christianizing Chinese methods and vocabulary, a duty he accomplished via writing (Paula 35). His topic and style were in harmony with the literary structures of the time.
Further, he touched on the interests, cultural expectations, and beliefs of the Chinese. These writings were skillfully displayed and presented with Ricci's initial intentions of ultimately replacing the Chinese philosophy with Christian ideology. Apart from his religious duties, Ricci penned personal letters alongside journals in Italian and Latin, where he presented his views blended with the Chinese ideology.
Moreover, Ricci's objective to enter the Chinese culture was furnished with scientific adventure. He presented himself as a religious figure and as a sage and knowledgeable character in world affairs. To please the Chinese elite, he entered china with musical and astronomical instruments, western clocks, mathematical and architectural instruments, including maps and diagrams. By unfolding western science to the Chinese, he attracted an important audience that gave him much-needed attention (Mong 389). In addition, his Chinese writings, especially Essay on Friendship, The True Meaning of the Lord, alongside his astronomical works such as Writings on Heavenly Studies an...