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Title: The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci by Jonathan D. Spence ISBN: 0-14-008098-8 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: June, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 (16 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: "Memory Palace" holds a wealth of information
Comment: I wrote my BA of Humanities thesis on Matteo Ricci and found Spence's book valuable for its information but mildly frustrating. "Memory Palace" is an excellence source for facts about Ricci's life for those who are not fluent in multiple languages or do not have access to the research material that Spence does. I turned to Spence for his commentary on Ricci's various writings that I did not have access to and for various tidbits of facts. Furthermore, Spence does a good job of illustrating the world that Ricci lived and worked in. For example, I was enlightened on the relationship of the Jesuits to the Portuguese King and how the Portuguese port of Macao in China operated. It was good background information to supplement the primary text I was using.
However, the frustrating part of this book is its organization. While it's an interesting idea to organize it according to the first four Chinese characters in his mnemonic system (or "memory palace"), it makes for a near meaningless train of thought; I ended up skimming the lengthy chapter on "water." I'm still disappointed by the end because Spence offers no real conclusion or summary, just an enigmatic statement. I had previously read Spence's "Death of Woman Wang" and I realize that it is Spence's style to amass historical information with unorthodox organization (I think it's his selling point). It's creative, but not very useful. Fortunately, the book has an excellent index, so it's fairly easy to re-find significant passages.
For those that want to read an actual narrative of Ricci's mission, I highly recommend the English translation of Trigault's transcription of Ricci's mission journals; this was the primary text for my paper. I found it very interesting and suprisingly high in entertainment value, considering its origin.
Trigault, Nicolas S. J. "China in the Sixteenth Century:
The Journals of Mathew Ricci: 1583-1610."
trans. Lous J. Gallagher, S.J. (New York: Random House, Inc. 1953).
Also recommended for his examination of the religious issues involved with Ricci and the other Jesuits preaching Christianity in China is Jaques Gernet's "China and the Christian Impact." To sum up, it answers this question and more, "What happens when you try to insert the Christian God into the ancient writings of a sophisticated society?"
Gernet, Jaques, "China and the Christian Impact." (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).
Rating: 3
Summary: Not About Memory Systems
Comment: Having been hipped to the existence of the phenomenon of memory
palaces by the books of Thomas Harris, (I'd forgotten all about them
after reading one of Tom Wujec's earlier books) I was looking
forward to finding a how-to book on the subject.
The Memory Palaces Of Matteo Ricci, however, is, again not it.
I already felt burned by Francis Yates' "Art Of Memory", which
is more about Hermeticism than the purported subject.
Interesting though it may be, the book is mainly about Ricci's
life and times as a Jesuit missionary in China, something I would
have gotten from any biography about the man, which in fact this is.
There is some cursory mention made of the principles of using loci
for the purpose of memory, but that's it. Not even Ricci's own
method is ananlyzed or discussed in great detail.
Rating: 4
Summary: Biography? History? Memory Improvement?
Comment: Jonathan D. Spence has written a book which can fall into a number of categories. On one level, it is a biography of a Jesuit who worked as a missionary in China during the Post-Reformation period. On another, it is an examination of his remarkable memory. On yet another, it vividly describes the China of this era and the efforts to bring Christianity to this closed society. The structure of the book is unusual for the genre, but is surprisingly successful. Ultimately, the book becomes a sort of psycho-historical account of a most remarkable man in a most remarkable place in a most remarkable time. Images from this book will linger in your mind for some time to come. Recommended for those interested in religious history, missions, the Jesuits, China, or artificial memory. A more technical companion piece is Francis Yates' _The Art of Memory_.
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Title: The Art of Memory by Francis A. Yates ISBN: 0226950018 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: December, 1974 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: In the Palaces of Memory : How We Build the Worlds Inside Our Heads by George Johnson ISBN: 0679737596 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 03 March, 1992 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: Emperor of China : Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi by Jonathan D. Spence ISBN: 067972074X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 22 October, 1988 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Search for Modern China by Jonathan D. Spence ISBN: 0393307808 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: October, 2001 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Death of Woman Wang, The by Jonathan D. Spence ISBN: 014005121X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 03 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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