Matteo Ricci’s Xiqin Quyi – A Jesuit’s Expert Musicking in Ming China
by Tsz Wong
Date of Examination:2017-11-20
Date of issue:2019-06-13
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Andreas Waczkat
Referee:Prof. Dr. Thomas Kaufmann
Referee:Prof. Dr. Henning Klöter
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Abstract
English
Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit who played a vital role in the cultural encounters between Ming China and Europe. He composed Xiqin Quyi Ba Zhang (西琴曲意八章) with Chinese lyrics. Since the original scores were lost, this research attempts to reconstruct Xiqin Quyi from their lyrical pronunciations based on the Jesuit dictionary Xi Ru Er Mu Zi (西儒耳目資) and their tonal references with musical notations in Sabatino de Ursis’s letter dated 23 rd August 1608. The reconstruction thus examines the function of music in the Jesuit’s Chinese Guanhua learning process, and how Xiqin Quyi may have looked like four hundred years ago.
Keywords: Matteo Ricci; Xiqin Quyi; Expert Mediator; Musicking; Ming China; Jesuit; Sabatino de Ursis; Xi Ru Er Mu Zi