Pearls in Paradise: Exhibition of Precious Maps and Archives from the Vatican Apostolic Libraryjointly organized by Macau University of Science and Technology and the Vatican Apostolic Library will be held at N108, the Library Building of MUST, and open 9:00 to18:00, from July 29th to August 6th, 2015. Visitors from all sectors of society are welcome to the exhibition. This exhibition is to be held in conjunction with the 2nd International Symposium on Global Mapping of Macau, both of which are part of the grand research project “Study of Historical Maps Related to Macau” co-hosted by Institute for Social and Cultural Research and Library of MUST. Both events have been sponsored by Macau Foundation, the Tertiary Education Services Office of Macau and MUST Foundation.
This grand research project was launched in September 2013 and aimed to achieve its multi-fold objectives within a few years. In conducting the project, historical approaches and global perspectives are adopted and the role of Macau in the Chinese-Western cultural exchanges and in the globalization process is particularly studied. The objectives of this grand project include the following: to collect historical world maps scattered around the world and to reorganize and catalog them, produce digital copies of them, conduct a thorough study towards them and publish relevant outcomes; through efforts in exploration, restoration, protection and centralized utilization of these precious literature resources in Macau history and geography, to create a resource pool for the deeper and further studies on Macau, and to provide a platform for the young generation in Macau so as to enhance their knowledge of Macau and develop their interest in Macau’s glorious history. The first phase of the project has reaped fruitful results and concluded with the successful organization of the 1stInternational Symposium on Global Mapping of Macau and map exhibition, as well as the publication of the proceedings Sailed to the East and an atlas that bears the same name. The second phase of the project is coming to an end, with around 1,500 maps collected and experts studying and interpreting the maps.
One of the richest and most extensive library collections in the world, Vatican Apostolic Library has elaborately selected approximately 100 antique maps and manuscripts from its amazing collection of millions of items to make the exhibition in Macau visually striking and academically valuable. It’s the first time for the treasures from Vatican Apostolic Library, the oldest library in Europe, to be displayed for all to see not only in the Macau SAR but also in the Cross-Strait four regions. It will be one of the most splendid exhibitions featuring Chinese-Western cultural exchanges.
The 2nd International Symposium on Global Mapping of Macau is to be held at N101, MUST Library Building on July 29th and 30th, sharing the same theme with the exhibition. Scholars and experts on the history of Chinese-Western cultural exchanges, antique maps and literature will be invited to share insights and discuss collaboration opportunities on topics such as (1) Ancient China’s knowledge of itself, other countries, and the universe; (2) the Ancient West’s imagination and exploration of the East; (3) the dissemination of Western Learning to the East vs. the introduction of Eastern Learning to the West; (4) early missionaries to China and to Macau in particular; (5) the Chinese Rites Controversy and Macau; (6) other relevant topics. After the keynote speeches on the first day of the symposium, there will be a 40-minute-long scholarly dialogue “Amazed by the over-500-year-old Guia Hill and Penha Hill, scholars gather again in Macau studying maps of the past for a new blueprint for the future”, moderated by Prof. Chengdan Qian, and participated in by Dr. Zhiliang Wu, Msgr. Jean-Louis Brugues, Prof. Yilin Zou, Ms. Clara, Dong Yu, and Prof. Yingyan Gong. With exchanges between scholars from Vatican City, Mainland China and Macau, the discussion will surely be exciting and fruitful!
This coming exhibition features maps created between the 12th and 19th century, mainly including “Ribero’s World Map” drawn by Portuguese cartographer Diego Ribero in 1529 and generally considered one of the most outstanding world maps in the Age of Discovery; “Complete Geographical Map of all the Kingdoms of the World” created by Matteo Ricci in 1602, one of the only six copies of the original woodblock print, and one preserved in the best condition; “General Star Map of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres Divided by the Equator” made by Johann Adam Schall von Bell in 1634 and known as the earliest and largest star map in Chinese (incorporating the South Pole), 5 meters long, with vivid colors; and “Route Map from Middle East to China and Northern Asia” drawn by Athanasius Kircher in 1667, revealing the historical “One Belt and One Road”, with Macau located at the starting point of the “maritime Silk Road”.
