Malatesta proposed the construction of a centralized Roundtable dedicated to the collection of information on the history of Christianity in China . He envisaged the inclusion of Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox sources, including archival records on the scientific, technical, and educational contributions of the missions. This analysis necessarily concerns Chinese social, religious and philosophical questions, as well as the backgrounds and methodologies of the missionaries. Designed from its inception as a freely-accessible World Wide Web site, it was clear that the vast historical scope of this field was too large for any single institution. Following the concept of shared data, the editors have established ties with many institutions in China and Europe in an effort to make relevant holdings more accessible.
Many individuals have important collections or personal narratives to contribute.
Technical information and questions on access, reading Chinese and other languages, and other issues are available here . Friends, colleagues, scholars and institutions worldwide are invited to join our enterprise in making resources available in this important field. We would also like to give special thanks to our sponsors who have generously supported this project. The text and images in the Ricci 21st Century Roundtable Database on the History of Christianity in China are for the personal use of students, scholars, and interested members of the public. Scholars using materials provided by this database are asked to acknowledge this in bibliographic citations.