- Giacomo Rho
Giacomo Rho (born at
Milan , 1593; died atBeijing ,27 April 1638 ) was an ItalianJesuit missionary in China.Life
The son of a jurist, he entered the Society of Jesus at the age of twenty. While he was later proficient in mathematics, to begin with he was a poor student.
After his
ordination at Rome byCardinal Bellarmine , he sailed in 1617 for the Far East with forty-four companions. After a brief stay atGoa he proceeded toMacao . During the siege of that city by Dutch forces, he taught the inhabitants the best use of artillery, and saved it from the attack. This service opened China to him.He rapidly acquired a knowledge of the Chinese language and was summoned in 1631 by the emperor to Beiing for the reform of the
Chinese calendar . WithFather Schall he worked to the end of his life at this task.When he died, numerous Chinese officials attended his funeral. He left works relative to the correction of the Chinese calendar, to astronomical and to theological questions.
References
*
De Backer -Sommervogel , "Biblioth. de la Comp. de Jésus", VI (9 vols., Brussels and Paris, 1890-1900), 1709-11;
*Huc, "Christianity in China, Tartary and Thibet", II (tr. New York, 1884), 265-66.
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