Annotation of "Memorial on Serving the State" by Wei Lido

Author: Tang Kajian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: This 1,300-word full text of the "Report on the Beginnings and Endings of Service" signed by Pereira is currently the earliest known Chinese memorial submitted by a Portuguese in Macau to the Ming court. It is also the most detailed Chinese document reporting on the establishment of Macau as a port and the early relations between the Portuguese in Macau and the Ming court. The main narrative describes the Portuguese entering China during the Zhengde era, settling in Macau during the Jiajing era, and eventually presenting Western cannons and troops to the Ming court during the Chongzhen era, covering a span of 120 years. The content reflected in it can correct many previous errors in the research on Ming-Sino-Portuguese relations and the early history of Macau, and further helps us to clarify the truth behind the mysterious Ming-Sino-Portuguese relations and the early history of Macau.