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.
Again, the MRIJ’s flower arrangement of most demanding research commissioned by the Macau Ricci Institute over the last ten years emerges at a timely moment when institutions of higher learning seem to be overwhelmed by a host of crises. The Presidents of prestigious Ivy League universities and other colleges keep rolling, sometimes right after their last desperate attempts to address the problems surfacing on their deeply divided campuses. Another additional source of turmoil seems to be controversies over the proper use of Artificial Intelligence in research and teaching.
During these multiple crises, especially as they play out in Asian contexts, comprehensive research into a specific type of social innovation and approach to moral leadership seems to me most significant. It may offer invaluable lessons for acquiring cross-cultural skills precisely at a moment when different ideological tribes seem to lock themselves up in their cozy self-referential worlds.
Given also the intense infighting and academic confusion hampering serious academic analysis and debate, the analysis of long-term research projects, such as those presented in this issue of the MRIJ, offers pragmatic and insightful ways to stimulate social innovation in the context of China especially through interconnectedness of interpersonal support, community building, selflessness, equality, integrity, and spirituality.
We are grounded in a conceptual framework which urges the development of a new economic paradigm, which we introduced as the “Macau Manifesto” (2020). It urged all stakeholders to constantly keep in mind the common good. Instead of an exclusive focus on exclusively profit-oriented models of higher education, the Manifesto enabled us to see the decisive contribution of the wisdom traditions of Asia. In a certain sense it documents how the early dream of the Indian polymath Rabindranath Tagore about an “Asian Era” finally would materialize.
The research reported in this issue suggests that the studies go well beyond the reach of the first stakeholder group, namely the work of those characterized as “missionaries” by providing a way forward for the whole person's development as well as harmony and betterment to the larger society.
Finally, the research presented here is action oriented. It attempts to reach the level of rigorous academic analysis in complex interdisciplinary areas such as sociology, philosophy, theology and economics. However, it points clearly to the need for more adequate hands-on training programs to train future leaders to understand complex social settings with the aim of addressing social problems and developing agents for reconciliation, peace and harmony to society, that will continue the demanding dialogue with China.
1) MISSIONARIES
As we often overlook the achievements of the Franciscan missionaries who arrived in China during the Yuan dynasty during the 13th century, the article about “Travelers to the Other Side of Christianity. A Summary of the Historical Situation of Giovanni da Montecorvino’s Mission to Yuan China” by Francesco Vossilla provides an important corrective. Franciscan Friar Giovanni operated without any associate for many years. It wasn’t until 1304 that Arnold of Cologne became his first companion. The stark contrast was evident in Beijing. Over a hundred Buddhist and Daoist temples, along with numerous mosques, adorned the city. Interspersed among them were Nestorian churches and an archbishopric (since 1275). Around 1265, Maffeo (c.1230 -1309) and Niccolò Polo (d.1294) were the first Italians admitted to the presence of Kublai Khan. Though Kublai’s entreaty to the Papacy carries a veneer of legend, his mandate to the Polos included the procurement of sacred oil from the lamp of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the enlistment of Roman clerics. In Marco Polo’s rendering of the events, these Catholic scholars emerge as prospective interlocutors, to dialogue with representatives of diverse creeds at Kublai’s court. Yet another saga unfolds, in which a Yuan Christian traveled to the other side of Christianity. The Beijing born Rabban Sauma (拉宾扫务玛, 1220–1294) —a Nestorian monk of Uighur or Ongut ethnicity—journeyed westward towards the Holy Land. His adventure metamorphosed into a diplomatic mission to Catholic Europe, orchestrated by the Mongol sovereigns of Persia with the sanction of their kin in Beijing.
Missionaries have often witnessed the tectonic shift in the change of dynasties. One important example is the case of Johann Adam Schall von Bell, S.J., who witnessed the collapse of the Ming and the birth of the Qing dynasty. Claudia von Collani presents a summary of the most recent research on Johann Adam Schall von Bell. What makes von Bell such an important and interesting research subject is his multi-faceted personality and his status as a pioneer of the Enlightenment movement, “Aufklaerung” in Europe. His versatile talents, his scientific ability, his fearlessness, but also his bluntness and lack of diplomacy, his whole adventurous life—all of these helped him in his various offices and obligations, but also made him unpopular with his confreres and Chinese rivals. In addition, there is the dramatic story of his life: vicissitudes ranging from the highest esteem at court and even friendship with the Shunzhi Emperor to his fall and near-martyrdom under the minority of the Kangxi Emperor. A most inspiring feature of his colorful life was his personal stance as a man of deep faith and man of science.
Another project highlights our ongoing attempt to more adequately understand the inspiration of the founder of the Taipei Ricci Institute, Fr. Yves Raguin S.J. (1910-1998). Jaroslaw Duraj investigates Raguin’s close link between contemplation and inter-religious dialogue, where Raguin goes well beyond Matteo Ricci in his appreciation of Buddhist and Taoist insights. Being aware of Ricci’s legacy, Raguin undertook this arduous but rewarding spiritual and intellectual journey of exploration by becoming deeply acquainted with Chinese religions, spiritualities and philosophies. He found enormous potential for dialogue based on similar experiences of Ultimate Reality, even though reflected and identified quite differently in the core messages of great religious traditions. Following the spirit of Vatican II’s (1962-1965) openness to other religions, Raguin was fully convinced that these constitute different valid ways of salvation for non-Christians and should be respected because the Holy Spirit in some mysterious way has been present in them even long before the dawn of Christianity. He went as far as to say that “not to recognize the fact that all the religions are agents of salvation is to deny the whole plan of God.” Yet “to recognize that religions are historical agents of salvation has to go along with the recognition that Christ as Word of God and His Spirit are the ultimate agents of this salvation provided in history through and by many different religions”.
“Sinicization” may have a narrow range of meaning suggesting the compliance of religious organizations to state rule and regulations. But going beyond such organizational questions the Macau Ricci Institute has supported research on how the Christian faith, with its process of trial and error, takes root in different and more specifically in Asian cultures. Sonja Xia deals with the core concept of Trinity and the process of inculturation of faith. A key term in the Asian context refers to the concept and experience of “Communion” which in Greek is koinonia (κοινωνία). It derives from koinos (κοινός), which means common. Communion means association, mingling, or fellowship. It can also mean sharing, participating in, and contributing. Initially, the New Testament and Church Fathers used communion with regard to the Christian community and Christians’ relationship with Jesus Christ. At the heart of being a Christian is their communion with Jesus Christ, which means uniting with Christ, sharing, and participating in His life. The great apostle of Christ, St. Paul, said: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.” (Colossians 2:9-10) In participating together in Jesus Christ, Christians bind with each other in a community where they realize fellowship with one another in sharing spiritual nourishment and material goods. In such a community, Christians build a communal relationship with one another, since different individuals come together, joining or sharing the same life in Christ. Communion, in this sense, designates the unity in multiplicity. It lies primarily in the divine action of uniting humanity, which is radically different from divinity, to His divine nature. This communion of humanity and divinity is realized in the Body of Christ, i.e., in the event of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and the Eucharist of the Church after Jesus’s ascension into Heaven. In sharing Jesus’ life by receiving the Eucharist, Christians enter this communion, uniting themselves with God through the communion of humanity and divinity in the Body of Christ. In this process, God first came down to unite humanity to Himself. Therefore, communion is, first of all, the divine action of communication. In this regard, communion ultimately means how God communicates Himself to us. There, we see the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit going hand in hand.
2) MERCENARIES
The Chinese proverb uses the term “Mercenaries” to refer to agents whose task is to serve under a foreign master. Going beyond mercenaries serving in military organizations we could also consider those business people who represent their businesses and develop their interests further. In the process of constantly adapting to different contexts, the research of Thomas Cai seems most relevant as he looks at both Ricci and Aleni in their different approaches to Human Nature. Ricci noted that overcoming self (克己) is indispensable for developing virtue and defined courage as self-conquest. In the arguments for the convenience of celibacy Ricci reminded his readers of the role of overcoming self and desire in serving God. This appreciation of overcoming self is more systematically presented in Pantoja’s Qike (七克 The Seven Victories, 1614), where the Jesuit explores how to overcome seven deadly sins. In a similar way, Aleni taught the faithful in Fujian that one should subdue oneself again and again when practicing the Seven Victories in order to reach the state of having few sins. For Jesuits of the early modern period, overcoming self (vincere seipsum) was not foreign to their spirituality. Indebted to the devotio moderna, Ignatius used this term in the Spiritual Exercises to urge his followers to conquer themselves and finally be freed from worldly attachment. The exegesis of Confucius’ words “to master oneself (克己ke ji) and return to propriety is humanity” (Analects 12) developed from the sixth century understanding of “oneself”(ji) as bodily desire. Due to this similarity, it is not hard for the Jesuit missionaries to link keji to vincere seipsum, as Cai argues, and adopt overcoming self in their preaching of the Christian faith.
Since China is often accused of falling into the trap of neo-colonial behavior by supposedly ruthlessly exploiting other countries for its own sole benefit, it seems revealing to follow how Ansoumane Douty Diakité compares China and France in their approaches to development projects in Africa. Both China and France have utilized grants to finance projects with direct or indirect impacts on poverty. This form of aid supports social welfare, development initiatives, and basic infrastructure in both donors’ target regions. Both countries allocate their grants to fund projects and programs in impoverished countries. However, there are notable differences between China and France. France specifically designates a list of recipient countries for its grants, focusing primarily on fourteen French-speaking nations known as Priority Poor Countries. In contrast, China targets poor countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations. Regarding loans, both countries provide this form of aid, but as Diakité shows, China’s interest-free and concessional loans benefit only a select few poor countries.
Eligibility for these loans requires sound economic conditions (for interest-free loans) or creditworthiness (for concessional loans). Conversely, France offers concessional loans exclusively to lower middle-income Mediterranean countries, upper middle-income nations, and Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) that are not classified as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) or emerging economies. Consequently, LDCs and low-income countries, despite being considered poor, do not qualify for concessional loans from France. In summary, grants remain a primary intervention tool for both donors in addressing poverty in Guinea. When it comes to loans, they are extended to countries with favorable economic standing or credit ratings.
3) MISFITS
When we search for the wide variety of “misfits” in China’s long history, we could define the phenomenon along the lines of the novelist, V.S. Naipul (1932-2018), who in his sharp social analysis explores the lives of people who have been cut from their cultural roots. As in his novel “Half a Life”(2001) the main character becomes “half a person” living with a “borrowed life”. Within all the restrictions and upheavals usually linked to a life in China the metaphor of the “borrowed life” of a misfit may reveal an important common feature. In one of the most dramatic ways the monumental ecological catastrophe evident in the pollution of the soil, water and the air indicates how humans have cut themselves off from their natural roots. Therefore, the call for a socio-ecological transformation becomes most urgent in China given its impact not only all over Asia but on the whole world. Gerhold K. Becker who has been doing research and policy advice all over Asia and Europe for decades thus argues for a comprehensive Ecological Conversion. Transforming our attitudes toward nature requires more than statistics and scientific parameters documenting the disastrous human impact on nature. Needless to say, they are all of utmost importance in directing measures by governments and international bodies that may at least mitigate the most serious consequences of human interference with nature and promise long-term sustainable development. For such policies to take hold, however, and to effect a radically changed attitude towards nature, it seems that this could not be left to science and politics but requires a comprehensive approach that involves all our ingenuity, imagination, and the whole range of intellectual and spiritual resources.
As long as the environmental awareness of the general public was low and not yet up to the dangers resulting from the destruction of our natural environment and specifically of global warming, warnings from science or indigenous people were largely ignored and governments could even cast doubt on scientific evidence of anthropogenic climate change. Much time was thus wasted until rising temperatures, worldwide changing weather patterns, and increasing losses in biodiversity could no longer be denied and began to be taken seriously in politics and society and finally led to concrete targets in emission control. This seems to suggest that decisive actions in sustainable development can only be expected from a clear awareness of our precarious relationship with nature that is shared by the general public and can stir governments and business into action.
The type of decisive action involving different stakeholders in society seems also urgently needed in the case of the tourist industry in Macau, which attracts gambling misfits from all over the world. In the case of addiction there is the lingering risk to gamble away substantial chunks of the income of families. The inquiry of Eric Mou refers to the over 28 million visitors that arrived in Macau in 2023, a city “called after the name of God” which relies heavily not so much on worshippers and pilgrims but now more on a variety of tourists and gamblers. In order to make the tourism sector more sustainable the government of Macau has made it mandatory to grant the renewal of licenses only to those businesses that demonstrate that they minimize the harmful effects of their business and implement sustainability in a concrete way which is beneficial to the whole city.
Mou rightly argues that much more investment is needed to genuinely fulfill all these requirements. More investment in social responsibility implies a clear focus on local markets. However, climate change with its devastating natural catastrophes have emerged dramatically in recent years; the tourism sector has to face more challenges in terms of weather and environmental issues. The United Nations Global Impact needs to be taken more seriously when it advocates “By committing to sustainability, business can take shared responsibility for achieving a better world”. The goal is to develop the great potential that a sustainable tourism business linked to an amazing range of UNESCO World heritage sites can bring with tremendous income to Macau and benefit the local community.
Still, the COVID-19 pandemic in Macau and nearby cities has caused many SMEs to close down or find it hard to maintain their everyday operations. What do these owners think about continuing their business? Are there any ethical practices or codes which are relevant for SMEs in their struggle to survive? The tourism sector is Macau’s primary industry. In 2023, tourist consumption was MOP71.25 billion, an increase of 2.9 times compared to 2022 figures. With the gaming service export increase of 343.7% in 2023, tourism is heading toward leading economic growth again. Besides the six gaming operators, the SMEs in Macau however also contribute significantly to the economy as they provide valuable services to visitors and support to the gaming operators.
We need of course finally to recognize that these research projects are very much “works in progress”. However, there is certainly already sufficient evidence and arguments over how decisive the cultural exchange between China and the West through the lens of different forms of “missions” has decisively contributed and is still contributing to social innovation in an ever-changing world. These studies should very well give food for thought for all those who tend to dismiss missionary enterprises ideologically as geriatric garbage and devalue our wisdom traditions and religions as questionable outdated forms of opiates.
Stephan Rothlin, Director of the Macau Ricci Institute, Macau and CEO of Rothlin International Management Consulting Limited, Beijing and Hong Kong
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