Matteo Ricci’s Rules

Main article: Matteo Ricci’s Rules

See also: Chinese Etiquette Controversy, Jesuits and Dominicans

Matteo Ricci allowed Chinese believers to continue the traditional worship of heaven, ancestors and Confucius. Matteo Ricci advocated calling the Catholic "god" (Deus in Latin) "God"; he believed that the traditional Chinese "heaven" and "god" were essentially the same as the "only true God" spoken of by the Catholic Church. Sacrifice to ancestors and Confucius are only rituals to commemorate ancestors and philosophers, and have no interference with faith; as long as they are not mixed with elements such as making wishes, worship, and prayer, they do not essentially violate Catholic teachings. Matteo Ricci's missionary strategies and methods were always followed by the Jesuits who later went to China to preach, and were known as the "Matteo Ricci Rules"

In the Kangxi era, Dominican missionaries sought to squeeze out Jesuit missionaries Preaching in China, complaining to the Pope that Matteo Ricci and others allow Chinese believers to worship their ancestors, which violates Catholic teachings. The Dominican missionaries suggested that the Pope send a special envoy to China to meet Emperor Kangxi, demanding that Ricci's rules be changed to exclude traditional Chinese missionary methods, and argue with Kangxi. Kangxi thought it was "unreasonable" and ordered the missionaries to comply, otherwise they would be expelled. This is the incident of the Chinese Etiquette Controversy. The ban on worshiping ancestors and worshiping Confucius was not abolished until hundreds of years later on December 8, 1939 by Pope Pius XII (Pius XII). This also shows Matteo Ricci’s understanding of Chinese culture. .