Insights from Matteo Ricci's Jiao You Lun (on Friendship): For the Young People of Hong Kong in Recent Protests

Abstract

Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) was a Jesuit missionary who entered China in 1583 and found himself in a hostile and xenophobic society. He felt upset, lonely and helpless. Despite having so many adversities, Ricci wrote a book On Friendship - Jiao You Lun交友論(JYL) and nourished the dream of bridging up the two entirely different worlds: Christian faith and Chinese culture. In the end, he earned the lasting recognition and respect from this great country through the way of friendship. Pope Benedict XVI while praising Ricci's JYL, regards him as a prophet who in a unique way worked out "a felicitous synthesis between the proclamation of the Gospel and the dialogue with the culture". Pope Francis quoted JYL to confirm the trusting attitude needed for "walking together" through the practice of dialogue.
This essay intends to offer a contemporary reading of JYL so as to highlight some insight of Matteo Ricci for those young people of Hong Kong who are looking for deeper meaning of life in the midst of turmoil. The essay chooses some slogans during the recent protests in Hong Kong and from these articulates five responses chiefly from和cci's JYL, namely: No splitting because of sincerity不割席，以誠為本；No snitching because of affection不篤灰，以清為重；No dividing because of righteousness不分化，以義為基；Democracy and Common Good民主，以民為貴；Freedom and Non-Violence自由，絕不暴力．
"One Country, Two Systems", a high point of tension during the protests, is not an idea prefabricated by someone in the past nor a fossilized cliche void of values, but rather a quest of the people, even in the midst of a social upheaval, for what really counts in a society. Ricci in his JYL proposes the way of friendship(youdao友道） in terms of the social strength that unites the people, as the truth-telling that reveals the meaning of life, and as the」oint effort of building a bridge between hope and reality. The way of friendship is not an easy way. Ricci chose it because he had faith in hwnan hearts where God is friend.