SHANGHAI, Sept. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The current thinking that China poses a threat to the Western-dominated international order may possibly originated from an international misconception which was proved erroneous by an Italian Jesuit missionary who died about four centuries ago, said Yu Qiuyu, a prominent scholar in China.

    Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, who lived from 1552 to 1610, explored China in the imperial Ming Dynasty (1369-1644).

    At that time, China was wealthy and manned with strong armies, which aroused concern in other countries and regions that such a prosperous country could have a great desire to expand.

    This may be a primitive version of present suspicions, Yu said.

    Matteo Ricci arrived in Macau in 1582 to find out if China indeed posed a threat. However, he was compelled to wait for about20 years for permission to go to Beijing, where he lived until his death.

    He adopted a Chinese name, Li Madou, and clad in the style of aChinese scholar then, spending about 30 fruitful years in China. He learned Chinese, read China's classics and interviewed scholars, so as to acquire a deep knowledge of Chinese culture.

    In his last years, he finished a book, China in the Sixteenth Century: the Journals of Matteo Ricci (1583- 1610), providing his analysis of China.

    He concluded that China had no ambition to expand whatsoever. And the Chinese emperors and their subjects were self-sufficient. The Chinese armies were a kind of comfort or flaunt. He believed China was preoccupied by internal frictions.

    Other historical facts also testify to the Western missionary's observations.

    For example, China built the Great Wall about 2,000 years ago to ward off intruders, and its household hero Zheng He, a prestigious navigator in the Ming Dynasty, loaded his gigantic ships with china, silks and trade instead of guns or cannons, when he sailed to southeast Asia, India, Persia, Arabia and Africa, Yu said.

    Following Ricci's example, Yu has researched various empires' histories only to find that many, like ancient Rome, Spain and Japan, had voiced dreams to conquer the world. No such intentions can be found in Chinese historical sources, he said.

    History is crucial in the formation of a nation's psychology, Yu said.  enditem