Diego de Pantoja

Diego de Pantoja or Diego Pantoja, Chinese: 龐迪我, or Pang Diwo 龐迪我 , (1571, Valdemoro, Spain - January 1618, Macao, China) was a Spanish Jesuit and missionary to China who is best known for having accompanied Matteo Ricci in Beijing. His name also appears in some sources as Didaco Pantoia.^[1]

He came to Macao on 20 July 1597. There he received his final instructions for his work in China at São Paulo Jesuit University.^[2] He was then sent to the Ming dynasty's southern capital, Nanjing, where he stayed from March 1600. He worked together with Matteo Ricci. Together, they left Nanjing on 19 May 1600 and arrived at the Ming dynasty's Northern and overall capital, Beijing, on 24 January 1601.

He worked in Beijing for many years, among others, as a musician, astronomer (with calendar corrections) and geographer (working with latitude).

On 18 March 1617, he was tried as an enemy of the Chinese astronomers, and was expelled from China, along with his colleague, Sabatino de Ursis, and settled down in Macao, where he stayed for the short time before his death.

References

1. ^ Gallagher (trans.) (1953), p. 355.
2. ^ Huang Qichen: "The First University in Macau: The Colégio de São Paulo", in John W. Witek (ed.): Religion and Culture: An International Symposium Commemorating The Fourth Centenary of the University College of St. Paul - Macau, 28 November to 1 December 1994, Macau: Instituto Cultural de Macau, 1999, s. 257-260

Literature

• L. Carrington Goodrich & Chao-Ying Fang (ed.): Dictionary of Ming Biography, 2 ed., New York/London: Columbia University Press 1976
• Gianni Criveller: Preaching Christ in Late Ming China: The Jesuits' Presentation of Christ from Matteo Ricci to Giulio Aleni, Taipei:Taipei Ricci Institute 1997 ISBN 2-910969-02-9
• Trigault, Nicolas S. J. "China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Mathew Ricci: 1583-1610". English translation by Louis J. Gallagher, S.J. (New York: Random House, Inc. 1953). This is an English translation of the Latin work, De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas based on Matteo Ricci's journals completed by Nicolas Trigault. Ricci and Pantoja's trip to Beijing is described on pp. 354-399. There is also full Latin text available on Google Books.

See also

• Jesuit China missions

Persondata
Name	Pantoja, Diego De
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1571
Place of birth
Date of death	1618
Place of death