The Historical Influence of Portuguese Civilization in Goa and Macao during the 15th-17th Centuries

The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government will organize an Academic Research Lecture in the Cultural Affairs Bureau Auditorium (Edifício do Instituto Cultural, Tap Seac Square, Macao) at 6:30pm on Thursday February 5. Dr. Gu Weimin, professor and doctoral tutor at the Philosophy Department of Shanghai Normal University, will give a lecture on “The Historical Influence of Portuguese Civilization in Goa and Macao during the 15th-17th Centuries”. Goa and Macao were amongst the numerous Asian colonies established by the Portuguese Seaborne Empire after the 15th-century Age of Discovery. Goa and Macao were two indispensable links in the sea-lane connecting East and West, which started in Lisbon, bypassing the Cape of Good Hope to the coast of East Africa, Goa, Malacca, Macao in China, and finally arrived at Nagasaki, Japan. In terms of administration and parish sub-divisions, however, there were differences in their subordination relations in both trading and missionary work. Whether in the past or now, Goa and Macao are astonishingly similar in appearance. This lecture will focus on a comparative study of the influence of Portuguese civilization on the two cities during the 15th-17th centuries, covering trading, intermarriage, urban pattern, missionary work, religious life, architecture and art. Trade relations and communication between the two cities and the challenges and pressures they encountered will also be discussed. Gu Weimin is currently a professor and doctoral tutor at the Philosophy Department of Shanghai Normal University. Gu is a council member of the Chinese Religions Studies Association, member of the International Committee of Historical Science in Italy, the Commission of History of International Relation in Milan and the India Christian History Studies Association in Bangalore. He is also a researcher of Modem Thoughts Studies Institution in East China Normal University. Gu is majored in the history of Catholicism in China and communication between China and the west. His publications include The Footmarks of disciple, Historical-photograph Collection of Christianity in China, Fu Jen Catholic University,1995, Christianity and Modern Society of China, Shanghai,1996, Mgr. Celso Costantini in China, Italy, Centro Missionario Diocesano, Concordia-Pordenone,1998, The Chronicle History of the Roman Catholic Church in China (635-1949), Shanghai, 2003, A History of Christian Arts in China (During the Period of Tang, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties), Hong Kong, 2003, and A History of Christian Arts in Modern China, Hong Kong. 2006. Gu has been a visiting researcher at the University of Aberdeen, the Sacro Cuore Catholic University of Milan, the Gregorian University of Rome, University of Heidelberg in Germany, Fu Jen Catholic University of Taiwan and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The lecture will be given in Mandarin with Cantonese, Portuguese and English simultaneous interpretation. Entrance is free. For further details, please contact Ms. Chu of the Macao Historical Archives of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at 85986537.