Martines is the Italian name of Huang Mingsha; in some records he is also known as Francisco Martinez (Spanish) or Martins (Portuguese). Born in Macao, Martines joined Matteo Ricci in Shaochow (Shaoguan) in 1589 as a brother candidate, and two years later, he and Sebastian Fernandez (Zhong Mingren) became the first two Chinese to enter the Society of Jesus. He served as a language instructor for Western missionaries and as catechist. In 1606 Martines was denounced to the Chinese authorities by an apostate Christian for being part of a supposed Jesuit-led foreign conspiracy to invade and conquer China. He died in a Canton (Guangzhou) jail after several days of brutal torture.
About the Author
By
Jean-Paul Wiest
Center for Missions Research and Study at Maryknoll, Maryknoll, New York, USA
Joseph Dehergne, Repertoire des Jesuites de Chine (1973), p.167; George H. Dunne, Generation of Giants (1962), pp. 31,119; Pasquale M. d'Elia, ed., Fonti Ricciane: Storia dell'introduzione del Cristianesimo in Cina (1942-1949), 1: 289-293, 2: 374-379; Jonathan Spence, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (1976), pp. 49-51; Nicolas Trigault, China in the Sixteenth century: The Journals of Matthew Ricci, 1583-1610, Louis J. Gallagher, tr. (1953), pp. 467, 485-490.
This article is reprinted from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, Macmillan Reference USA, copyright (c) 1998 Gerald H. Anderson, by permission of The Gale Group; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. All rights reserved.