💬 Famous Quotes
📋 Basic Information
📖 Biography
Lazzaro Cattaneo (Italian: Lazzaro Cattaneo; Chinese name Guo Jujing, 郭居静; 1560–1640), courtesy name Yangfeng (仰凤), was an Italian missionary of the Catholic Society of Jesus and one of the missionaries who came to China during the Ming dynasty. He came to China in 1594 (the 22nd year of Wanli) and assisted Matteo Ricci (利玛窦) in his mission.
The Cattaneo Incident
Early in 1606 (the 34th year of Wanli), Cattaneo, who had been to Beijing and Nanjing with Ricci, returned to Macau. A rumour went around there that “the Jesuits are conspiring with the Portuguese, the Dutch and the Japanese to kill the Chinese in Macau, then conquer China by force and make Cattaneo emperor.” The rumour quickly spread all over Macau; the frightened Chinese residents went back to the mainland one after another, leaving only the Portuguese and their black slaves in Macau.
When Dai Yao (戴耀), Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, heard of it, he too was alarmed; he urgently ordered his troops to prepare defences and cut off trade and food supplies to the Portuguese in Macau. Without food, Macau soon suffered a severe famine.
The Portuguese authorities in Macau hastily sent a “most humble” delegation to assure Dai Yao that no invasion was intended. After investigations by various parties, which included summoning Cattaneo and inspecting the churches, inns, hospitals and other buildings throughout Macau, it was confirmed that there was no sign of war. The situation then eased, and Sino-Portuguese trade returned to normal.
Missionary Career
In 1608 (the 36th year of Wanli) Cattaneo went to Shanghai to begin mission work there, and in 1611 (the 39th year of Wanli) to Hangzhou. From 1622 (the 2nd year of Tianqi) onward he lived mostly in Hangzhou. He died in Hangzhou in 1640 (the 13th year of Chongzhen) and was buried in the cemetery for members of religious orders at Dafangjing (大方井), Hangzhou.
During his life Cattaneo wrote Huizui Yaozhi (悔罪要旨) [Essentials of Repentance] and Lingxing Yi Zhu (灵性诣主) [The Soul's Approach to the Lord], each in one juan.