Matteo Ricci, the first Western missionary to come to China (1583), remained there for 27 years. He introduced Confucius to the West, and his records have long served as an important reference for research into the upper class culture of the Ming dynasty.
利瑪竇，這個首位來華（一五八三年）、在中國待了廿七年的傳教士，就首先把孔子介紹給西方；他在中國的種種見聞紀錄，也成為研究明朝士大夫文化的重要參考。