Reflections: Catholic legacy

As the beatification of the missionary Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) progresses at the Vatican, we're reminded of how active the Catholic Church was in China in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Among the thousands of Chinese converts at the time, Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) was arguably the most prominent. Born in Shanghai, Xu was a scholar and teacher of the Chinese classics; in Guangdong, he met Italian Jesuit Lazzaro Cattaneo, who introduced him to Christianity. Xu was formally baptised aged 41 in 1603 by the Portuguese priest Jean de Rocha in Nanjing. The following year, Xu passed the imperial examinations and began a career in government that saw him serve four emperors and reach a rank equivalent to that of prime minister.

Xu was something of a Renaissance man who, away from his official duties, wrote prolifically on subjects as varied as statecraft, military strategy, Christianity, Chinese philosophy, agriculture (he was an early advocate of the sweet potato), and science and mathematics. He also translated several European books into Chinese, among them Euclid's Elements, which he translated with Ricci.

When he died, Xu was buried in his birthplace in Shanghai's Xujiahui ("Settlement of the Xu clan"). Xu's descendants - among them the famous Soong sisters - prospered in Shanghai right up to the modern era.