Taipei Ricci Institute
Encyclopedia
The Taipei Ricci Institute (TRI) is one of the Ricci Institutes
, in Taipei
, Taiwan
.
Heir to the spirit of Matteo Ricci
’s methods of evangelization in China in the 17th century, the Taipei Ricci Institute (TRI, Institut Ricci de Taipei) was established in 1966 by Father Yves Raguin, S.J. (1912-1998) and other Jesuits sinologists who were working on a multi-linguistic dictionary project launched around 1950 in Macau
. Working on Chinese’s languages and religions, this institution revived the “Bureau d’Etudes Sinologiques” created in 1892 by the French Jesuits of Shanghai and its publication “Variétés Sinologiques”. The TRI still keeps the editorial direction of the Variétés sinologiques today.
In fact, what is now known as the “Taipei Ricci Institute” was and is officially named “Ricci Institute, Center for Chinese Studies”. The creation of other Ricci Institutes has enlarged the network and the influences of this institution.
In 1996, Benoît Vermander
, S.J. succeeded to Yves Raguin, taking over the running of the TRI. Accrued interaction with mainland China led to a redefinition of the tasks of the Institute, now defined as follows: to carry on dialogue and reflection towards and within the Chinese world, in order to make China become positive and active partner of globalization, thanks to a reinterpretation of its cultural resources. “Cultural diversity”, “sustainable development” and “spiritual empowerment” are the three poles of development that the TRI constructs in confronting challenges and debates present in today’s China.
, Taoist philosopher, is a monthly magazine written in Chinese, published in Taipei
since January 2004. This magazine is mainly concerned with social, spiritual and cultural topics. Edited by Renlai staff and TRI, the magazine is published in association with the French Jesuit review Etudes. Since 2006, TRI has also started an internet magazine eRenlai www.erenlai.com, available in English, Chinese, both traditional and simplified. Renlai and eRenlai are particularly concerned about questions such as sustainable development, cultural diversity and mobilization of spiritual resources in the Chinese world.
Ricci Institutes
The Ricci Institutes, named after the sinologist Matteo Ricci, are research and publication centers directed towards the studies of Chinese ancient and modern culture as well as towards the intercultural dialogue between the Chinese World and the others spiritual traditions in the world...
, in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
Heir to the spirit of Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....
’s methods of evangelization in China in the 17th century, the Taipei Ricci Institute (TRI, Institut Ricci de Taipei) was established in 1966 by Father Yves Raguin, S.J. (1912-1998) and other Jesuits sinologists who were working on a multi-linguistic dictionary project launched around 1950 in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
. Working on Chinese’s languages and religions, this institution revived the “Bureau d’Etudes Sinologiques” created in 1892 by the French Jesuits of Shanghai and its publication “Variétés Sinologiques”. The TRI still keeps the editorial direction of the Variétés sinologiques today.
In fact, what is now known as the “Taipei Ricci Institute” was and is officially named “Ricci Institute, Center for Chinese Studies”. The creation of other Ricci Institutes has enlarged the network and the influences of this institution.
Works
At the beginning, the TRI had two goals:- To achieve the preparation and publication of dictionaries, work started in 1950. Since the 1970’s, some middle-sized dictionaries have been published: Chinese-French, Chinese-Spanish and Chinese-Hungarian. Le Grand Ricci, the most important Dictionary, was finally published in 2002: it includes seven volumes, nine thousand pages, 13,500 words and more than 300,000 definitions. It is recognized as the most complete Chinese-foreign language dictionary in the world.
- To conduct studies of comparative spirituality, with a special interest for Chinese Taoism and Buddhism. Yves Raguin has published about twenty books on this topic (See www.riccibase.com). His works reflect an effort on dialogue with the other religions and trends of philosophical thinking, that were emphasized in Council Vatican II.
In 1996, Benoît Vermander
Benoît Vermander
Benoît Vermander, born in 1960, is a French Jesuit, sinologist and political scientist, and director of the Taipei Ricci Institute since 1996. He is managing editor of the Chinese language journal Renlai and the electronic magazine erenlai...
, S.J. succeeded to Yves Raguin, taking over the running of the TRI. Accrued interaction with mainland China led to a redefinition of the tasks of the Institute, now defined as follows: to carry on dialogue and reflection towards and within the Chinese world, in order to make China become positive and active partner of globalization, thanks to a reinterpretation of its cultural resources. “Cultural diversity”, “sustainable development” and “spiritual empowerment” are the three poles of development that the TRI constructs in confronting challenges and debates present in today’s China.
TRI publications
Besides the Dictionnaire Ricci de la langue chinoise (or Le Grand Ricci) TRI has authored or published more than twenty books in the field of Chinese studies, in Chinese, French and English, during the last decade, with special emphasis on oracular inscriptions, philosophy of peace and minority languages. Especially noteworthy is the publication of Chinese Christian Texts from the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus. This collection of twelve volumes contains a selection of hitherto unpublished texts.Renlai monthly
Renlai magazine (“human flute-or voice”), a Chinese expression created by ZhuangziZhuangzi
Zhuangzi was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, a period corresponding to the philosophical summit of Chinese thought — the Hundred Schools of Thought, and is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name,...
, Taoist philosopher, is a monthly magazine written in Chinese, published in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
since January 2004. This magazine is mainly concerned with social, spiritual and cultural topics. Edited by Renlai staff and TRI, the magazine is published in association with the French Jesuit review Etudes. Since 2006, TRI has also started an internet magazine eRenlai www.erenlai.com, available in English, Chinese, both traditional and simplified. Renlai and eRenlai are particularly concerned about questions such as sustainable development, cultural diversity and mobilization of spiritual resources in the Chinese world.