Name Diego Pantoja | Died 1618, Portuguese Macau | |
Diego de Pantoja, el primer español que entró en la Ciudad Prohibida
Diego de Pantoja or Diego Pantoja (Chinese: 龐迪我, Pang Diwo; April 1571, Valdemoro, Spain – January 1618, Portuguese Macau, China) was a Spanish Jesuit and missionary to China who is best known for having accompanied Matteo Ricci in Beijing. His name also appears in some sources as Didaco Pantoia.
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He arrived in Portuguese Macau on 20 July, 1597, where he received his final instructions for his work in China at São Paulo Jesuit University. He was then sent to the Ming dynasty's southern capital, Nanjing, where he stayed from March 1600. He worked with Matteo Ricci, who later completed his work on the Zhifang waiji, China's first global atlas. Together, they left Nanjing on 19 May, 1600, and arrived at the Ming dynasty's Northern and overall capital, Beijing, on 24 January, 1601.
He worked in Beijing for many years, including as a musician, astronomer (with calendar corrections) and as a geographer (working with latitude).
On 18 March, 1617 he was tried as an enemy of the Chinese astronomers and was expelled from China, along with his colleague Sabatino de Ursis, and settled in Macao, where he lived for the short time remaining before his death.