Rating: 
Summary: a superb portrait
Review: All Sinophiles will enjoy this book about Matteo Ricci, the great-grand-daddy of us all. Spence stitches his story together cunningly, framing Ricci's life, times, and places on two of his publications, fitted one within the other. Ricci supplied Western religious pictures for a Chinese art book; he also wrote a memory course based on four Chinese characters. His analysis of the characters is nothing new, stock for thousands of years, but how the memory system is supposed to function is far beyond my powers of comprehension! If you know Chinese, remembering those four characters is a moment's snatch; recalling Ricci's convuluted directions and details is more trouble than it's worth. Chutzpah! To teach memory to Chinese literati, who traditionally memorize not phrases or quotes, but chapters and books! But any missionary must be convinced that he is the only one who is right, the only one qualified to teach. Many literati Ricci sought to convert must have recalled the line in the Rites (Li Chi): "Etiquette knows only of coming to learn, not of going forth to teach." How well did Ricci read the Chinese psyche? He scorned the robes of Buddhist monks because of their low social standing, and adorned himself in embroidered garments of silk. 400 years later, Buddhism is still gaining steam, while Christianity yet remains the province of a fringe. Spence carves a vivid picture of Ricci's times in Europe, India, and China, with a very touching ending. He put so much work and authority into this book that I was quite surprised to read that the Ma in Ricci's Chinese name (Li Ma Tou) combines "two simple and unambiguous components -- a king and a horse." Although beginners might confuse that thing on the left of this character for 'wang' king, that element is unequivocally 'yu' jade. This character is usually used in the combination for 'agate', thus the jade. Even if this character had anything to do with a king on horseback, in those days that image might be more likely to recall riders sweeping down from the North. Perhaps Spence used this as a rhetorical device to show how Ricci admired the Jew-hating, foolhardy king Sebastian. Other than that, my only compunction about this book would be that Ricci reached China when the Ming dynasty, one of China's very worst, was collapsing. Mounted kings from Manchuria were conquering a tottering, corrupt dynasty. I wish Spence had stressed that Ricci saw China in days of decay, not glory or power.
Rating: 
Summary: Room 101
Review: Gregory MacNamee's average mind is very annoying, this book is about a precursor of PSYOPS the "psychological operations" of the U.S. military and Madison Avenue. The Jesuits inquisition was using torture instruments for similar purposes, cultural genocide.
Rating: 
Summary: Not About Memory Systems
Review: Having been hipped to the existence of the phenomenon of memory
palaces by the books of Thomas Harris, (I'd forgotten all about them
after reading one of Tom Wujec's earlier books) I was looking
forward to finding a how-to book on the subject.
The Memory Palaces Of Matteo Ricci, however, is, again not it.
I already felt burned by Francis Yates' "Art Of Memory", which
is more about Hermeticism than the purported subject. Interesting though it may be, the book is mainly about Ricci's
life and times as a Jesuit missionary in China, something I would
have gotten from any biography about the man, which in fact this is.
There is some cursory mention made of the principles of using loci
for the purpose of memory, but that's it. Not even Ricci's own
method is ananlyzed or discussed in great detail.
Rating:
Summary: A Cross Cultural Gem
Review: Having used this book in an upper division undergraduate history class, I recommend it to any reader interested in China's relations with Europe and the West or Western perception and understanding of China. An excellent account of cultural encounter and mutual exploration.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: I bought this book thinking that it would tell the story of how Matteo Ricci got to present Christianity to the very top echelons of China: how he got to China in the first place, the imaginative ways in which he presented Christ to the Chinese, and the reactions of others - both Christian and non-Christian - to his preaching and his accomplishments. As it is, the story presented in this book covers only a few of these topics, and then in no logical order. I just don't think that what is undoubtedly a fascinating story is well told! I don't recommend buying this book.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating book!
Review: I loved this book. The mixture of history, mneumonic device, theology, missionary activity, and social and political thought is entrancing. Dr. Spence has displayed the cultural and spiritual ethos, not only of the title character, but of an era, place and time. The breadth of scholarship is impressive, as are the language and imagery used to present it. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the material presented, but am so intrigued, now, by the period, that I soon will be able to. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: For history buffs, not for memory techniques
Review: I was disappointed in the book for it gives detailed history of Ricci's time but very little information on his actual memory palace techniques.
Rating:
Summary: For history buffs, not for memory techniques
Review: I was disappointed in the book for it gives detailed history of Ricci's time but very little information on his actual memory palace techniques.
Rating: 
Summary: "Memory Palace" holds a wealth of information
Review: I wrote my BA of Humanities thesis on Matteo Ricci and found Spence's book valuable for its information but mildly frustrating. "Memory Palace" is an excellence source for facts about Ricci's life for those who are not fluent in multiple languages or do not have access to the research material that Spence does. I turned to Spence for his commentary on Ricci's various writings that I did not have access to and for various tidbits of facts. Furthermore, Spence does a good job of illustrating the world that Ricci lived and worked in. For example, I was enlightened on the relationship of the Jesuits to the Portuguese King and how the Portuguese port of Macao in China operated. It was good background information to supplement the primary text I was using. However, the frustrating part of this book is its organization. While it's an interesting idea to organize it according to the first four Chinese characters in his mnemonic system (or "memory palace"), it makes for a near meaningless train of thought; I ended up skimming the lengthy chapter on "water." I'm still disappointed by the end because Spence offers no real conclusion or summary, just an enigmatic statement. I had previously read Spence's "Death of Woman Wang" and I realize that it is Spence's style to amass historical information with unorthodox organization (I think it's his selling point). It's creative, but not very useful. Fortunately, the book has an excellent index, so it's fairly easy to re-find significant passages. For those that want to read an actual narrative of Ricci's mission, I highly recommend the English translation of Trigault's transcription of Ricci's mission journals; this was the primary text for my paper. I found it very interesting and suprisingly high in entertainment value, considering its origin. Trigault, Nicolas S. J. "China in the Sixteenth Century:
The Journals of Mathew Ricci: 1583-1610."
trans. Lous J. Gallagher, S.J. (New York: Random House, Inc. 1953). Also recommended for his examination of the religious issues involved with Ricci and the other Jesuits preaching Christianity in China is Jaques Gernet's "China and the Christian Impact." To sum up, it answers this question and more, "What happens when you try to insert the Christian God into the ancient writings of a sophisticated society?" Gernet, Jaques, "China and the Christian Impact." (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).
Rating:
Summary: "Memory Palace" holds a wealth of information
Review: I wrote my BA of Humanities thesis on Matteo Ricci and found Spence's book valuable for its information but mildly frustrating. "Memory Palace" is an excellence source for facts about Ricci's life for those who are not fluent in multiple languages or do not have access to the research material that Spence does. I turned to Spence for his commentary on Ricci's various writings that I did not have access to and for various tidbits of facts. Furthermore, Spence does a good job of illustrating the world that Ricci lived and worked in. For example, I was enlightened on the relationship of the Jesuits to the Portuguese King and how the Portuguese port of Macao in China operated. It was good background information to supplement the primary text I was using. However, the frustrating part of this book is its organization. While it's an interesting idea to organize it according to the first four Chinese characters in his mnemonic system (or "memory palace"), it makes for a near meaningless train of thought; I ended up skimming the lengthy chapter on "water." I'm still disappointed by the end because Spence offers no real conclusion or summary, just an enigmatic statement. I had previously read Spence's "Death of Woman Wang" and I realize that it is Spence's style to amass historical information with unorthodox organization (I think it's his selling point). It's creative, but not very useful. Fortunately, the book has an excellent index, so it's fairly easy to re-find significant passages. For those that want to read an actual narrative of Ricci's mission, I highly recommend the English translation of Trigault's transcription of Ricci's mission journals; this was the primary text for my paper. I found it very interesting and suprisingly high in entertainment value, considering its origin. Trigault, Nicolas S. J. "China in the Sixteenth Century:
The Journals of Mathew Ricci: 1583-1610."
trans. Lous J. Gallagher, S.J. (New York: Random House, Inc. 1953). Also recommended for his examination of the religious issues involved with Ricci and the other Jesuits preaching Christianity in China is Jaques Gernet's "China and the Christian Impact." To sum up, it answers this question and more, "What happens when you try to insert the Christian God into the ancient writings of a sophisticated society?" Gernet, Jaques, "China and the Christian Impact." (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).
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