Stephan Rothlin

INTRODUCTION

　　A common saying in China refers to three “M’s”, such as “Missionaries, Mercenaries & Misfits” as a short summary of the main species of foreigners who for centuries made an impact within the Middle Kingdom. The saying may in fact imply a further set of prejudices concerning these leftovers who may be labelled as “geriatric garbage,” as they say in New York: namely missionaries imposing their foreign god on other cultures; mercenaries, whoever their master may be, obsessed only with the wealth they may obtain, and all kinds of misfits who didn’t manage to cope with the various changes in life, thus ending up as vagabonds and outcasts of society.

　　However, when we reflect on the major research projects of the Macau Ricci Institute of the last ten years which are focused on the cultural exchange between China and the West we have been amazed to recognize the surprising social innovation that these misfits, missionaries and mercenaries achieved in dialogue or in conflict with their hosts in the Middle Kingdom. Moreover, even based on anecdotal empirical evidence it may be claimed for most who had the chance to stay for a while in China that the boundaries between the different “M’s” are quite fluid;

in other words, everyone may at some point or another identify herself or himself as a misfit. It may also be overlooked that tons of prejudices and pretentions may come in the way of a genuine encounter and risk turning the most innovative attempts into geriatric garbage indeed.