In 1517, Portuguese commander Fern?o Pires de Andrade led a fleet of eight vessels to Tun Men. He notified the Chinese authorities of Dongguan that they were a mission sent by the Portuguese king, and requested a meeting with the emperor. Their request fell on deaf ears, and unable to wait, they took a fleet of three boats down the Pearl River, heading for Guangzhou.
After Fern?o Pires de Andrade docked in Guangzhou, once again was the flag raised, guns fired in salute and the success of Portuguese explorers celebrated. It had not occurred to him that this Western ceremonial tribute would actually offend Chinese governer Wu Tingju. This misunderstanding would lead China to almost miss Fern?o Pires' mission. Only after desperate explanations did Wu Tingju agree to report their demands to the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Chen Xixuan. A few days later, Chen visited Guangzhou. Holding the view that these "barbarians" were not versed in the customs and rites of Chinese culture, he ordered them first to learn some manners in a Guangzhou's mosque. Only then would he allow them the honor of meeting the emperor.
In 1518, the younger brother of Fern?o Pires de Andrade, Sim?o de Andrade led a fleet of four warships to Tun Men.
On January 23, 1520, the envoy of Fern?o Pire de Andrade began two years of "re-education," after which they finally receive court approval and made tracks for Beijing. Not long after their arrival, Sim?o de Andrade had a conflict with Chinese residents, undermining the diplomatic efforts of Fern?o Pire de Andrade and leading to the breakdown of a fragile relationship. Fern?o Pire de Andrade was expelled from Beijing and his translator sentenced to death for treachery.
Despite the failure of the mission, it was the starting point for an official dialogue between China and the West. Following the mission, priest Francis Xavier became China's first voice of the gospel.
According to Matteo Ricci, it was only after realizing in Japan the influence of Chinese wisdom that Xavier decided to go there. "While working in Japan, he noticed that the topic of intense debate was always the Chinese people's authority and influence. Matters of religion and administration always called upon Chinese wisdom in Japan. It was thus logically concluded that if Christianity was indeed to be the 'true' religion, wise Chinese people would have to know about it and accept it. Therefore, Xavier determined that a conversion of the Chinese people was imperative." [8]
In 1552, as the Pope's envoy, Xavier arrived on the island of Shangchuan, approximately 30 miles away from the coast of Guangdong, with hopes of presenting a gift on behalf of the Pope to the emperor. But every attempt to progress onto the mainland was met with disappointment, being blocked by guards at every entry point. On December 2 of that year, he became infected with malaria and passed away. The Catholic Church later honored him as "the greatest missionary," and in 1662, he was sainted.
The past four decades have seen the disappointment of businesspeople, diplomatic missions and missionaries in realizing their China dream. Finally, Portuguese commander Leonel de Sousa would be the one to crack corrupt Ming officials.
In 1553, Sousa began negotiations with Guangdong officials to "break the barriers of the great seas and liberate trade." After accepting bribes from the Portuguese, Guangdong Vice Commissioner of Coastal Defense Wang Bo permitted their landing and trade of goods. In the following year, Sousa and Wang Bo further negotiated berth rights at Macao's shipping docks to engage in trade. From then on, Portuguese flocked in waves to Macao.
