(The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci) By Jonathan D. Spence (Author) Hardcover on (Jun , 1994)

The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci uses a Chinese-language treatise by Ricci on the mnemonic arts as a guide to the story of his mission to China. Ricci was the first Christian missionary to be able to establish residence in Beijing, in 1601. His story is as remarkable - Ricci was able to learn Chinese well enough to translate books and debate points of theology with local scholars, and his capacity for memorisation appears to have been exceptional - as it is poignant. It also offers rich comment on mutual European and Chinese Renaissance-era prejudices. Indeed, Spence makes a very entertaining job of digging up colourful cultural details from both sides, and in painting the mission's political, economic, and religious context.The memory palace was a system by which information was placed within the rooms of an imaginary palace, in this case a single room peopled with statues conjured for their association value with Chinese characters. Spence's book uses the palace images as its own guide, and he also analyses four religious prints published, with brief commentaries by Ricci, in a contemporary Chinese collection of graphics. The book is loosely chronological as well as thematic, following its protagonist from Macerata in Italy to Rome, Goa, Macau, and through various provincial cities to Ricci's death in Beijing. This is both an original and an insightful historical work, with wide relevance in spite of its specialised topic.

I thought this was going to focus more on the memory palace technique. It turned out to be more of a history lesson, but an interesting one nonetheless!

What a nice story to read! Shipment and the book quality was excellent.

The title is misleading, and the blurb doesn't provide much accurate information either. This book is neither a treatise on the ancient and medieval systems of memory, nor a biography, but a meandering series of snapshots of Matteo Ricci, whose life in China at the end of the 16th century was fascinating (or might have been in the hands of a different author). The extracts from his letters are vivid and exciting and provide flashes of insight into Chinese customs and the perils of travel by land and sea, but Spence's own writing is loosely organised and somewhat tedious.

i got it because wanted to know about memory palace not matteo ricci so my bad?