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The article compares the Commitments of the Misericórdia of Goa (1595) and the Misericórdia of Macau (1627), arguing that the longevity and social effectiveness of the "houses of mercy" in Portuguese Asia were based on a process of concentration of charity combined with statutory stabilization. The author contends that the commitments, as an organizing doctrine of the lay brotherhood, produced a normative order capable of flexibly coordinating religious and charitable activities in distinct colonial contexts: a Goan space undergoing progressively colonial transformation and a Macanese enclave marked by a survival strategy within a predominantly Chinese milieu. The methodology combines contextual reading and normative analysis of the statutory texts, articulating doctrine, institutional structures, and social practices. The research interprets the commitments as instruments of institutional reproduction and management of patrimonial resources, highlighting how the accumulation of donations, testaments, and legacies was converted into financial and productive mechanisms (loans, insurance, and investments) that sustained both public and private works as well as the stability of funds for colonial administrations. It concludes that statutory adaptation enabled the Misericórdias to function as a social protection infrastructure and as agents in structuring local elites, largely ensuring the continuity of their activities in a system where the central state did not provide systematic assistance.

The article analyzes the emergence and consolidation of the Misericórdias in Nagasaki, contextualizing them within the framework of Luso-Japanese relations and Catholic evangelization, particularly under Jesuit influence, between the mid-sixteenth century and the subsequent period. It argues that the earliest charitable and hospital structures did not constitute merely a philanthropic response, but also a cultural and institutional apparatus indispensable to the implantation of Christianity in an environment marked by population displacements, conditional tolerance, and political tensions. Drawing on a critical reading of narrative and historiographical sources (with particular recourse to Luís Fróis) and the chronological sequencing of references to ecclesiastical buildings, the article reinterprets traditionally accepted dates and proposes that religious organization in Nagasaki predates, in operational terms, later references. It concludes that the Misericórdia emerges integrated into an expanding urban ecosystem: linked to the reuse of spaces, the creation of local support networks, and the participation of displaced or converted communities. Thus, charitable activity proves structural to missionary work, functioning as linguistic and social mediation, and as infrastructure for caring for, integrating, and sustaining practices of faith.

This article presents the INDEX OF AUTHORS for issues 9 to 12 of the “RC INTERNATIONAL” section of *Revista de Cultura* (2005), bringing together studies produced between January and September 2004. The contribution systematically organizes the thematic and geographical diversity of the published works: Luso-Asian relations, circulation of people and goods, border dynamics and Macau–region exchange (including Hong Kong), as well as approaches to religious history, ritual practices, and trade networks (particularly Chinese, Dutch, Muslim, and Parsi). Methodologically, the collection highlights historiographical and analytical approaches grounded in documentary research and transregional contextualization, mobilizing European and Asian sources to reconstruct key episodes (such as politico-commercial incidents and navigation/trade episodes), individual trajectories, and long-term structures (17th–18th centuries, with earlier incursions). The index entries highlight articles by reference authors and, in some cases, serial works or editorial prefaces, allowing for the mapping of convergent lines of inquiry in the study of Macau and South China at the crossroads of empires, maritime routes, and cultural transformations.

This article investigates why the Chinese goddess Nu Wa—often associated with cosmogony and the repair of the sky—is venerated in Macao in a peripheral space, through an apparently “subsidiary” cult within the local pantheon. The author articulates an etiological and exegetical approach: she reconstructs the formation and transformations of the Nu Wa myth from classical sources (from texts of the Warring States period to compilations and works of the Han and Ming dynasties) and relates these literary narratives to their religious appropriation in the Macanese context. Methodologically, the study combines textual analysis, religious history, and an examination of the temple’s functioning, while also drawing on contributions from disciplines such as history, literature, religion, folklore, and anthropology. As a case study, the small Temple of Nu Wa (renovated after fires and today marked by the reconfiguration of urban space) is described, showing how the divine hierarchy in Macao incorporates the goddess into a broader network of Daoist and devotional practices, rather than placing her at the center of the more prestigious maritime “service.” Among the main findings, the liminal character of the cult stands out: the matriarchal nature of Nu Wa persists as an archetypal and ontological image, but is locally reorganized—including her coexistence with Lu Zu—in order to integrate into the territory’s syncretic spirituality.

The article examines the "energy" of plot and the act of narrating in post-colonial fiction, arguing that competing stories—rather than merely the valorization of orality—reveal social and political dynamics that resist essentialism. Drawing on Richard Kearney's formulations concerning the power of narratives to shape fragmented events and produce communal identity, as well as Michael Jackson's distinction between canonical stories that reinforce boundaries and narrative practices that dissolve or transgress them, the author proposes that the apparent tension between collective cohesion and individual difference can be productive, and is verifiable in two literary cases. Methodologically, the text brings Brian Castro and Mia Couto into dialogue through a comparative and contextualized reading, articulating narrative poetics with biographical trajectories marked by cultural "in-betweenness" and processes of decolonization. The works analyzed evince procedures of self-invention, identity ambiguity, and reconfiguration of national and linguistic belongings, refusing stories "imposed from above" and opening space for multiple points of view. The conclusion is that, in Castro and Couto, storytelling functions simultaneously as a mechanism of meaning-making and as a critique of totalizing categories, transforming narrative into a device of resistance and rewriting of the post-colonial.

This article analyzes the role of the Portuguese merchant fleet based in Macao between the last quarter of the 17th century and the end of the 18th century (1684–1792) within the framework of China’s maritime trade expansion with Europe and Asia during the “long eighteenth century.” The central thesis argues that, although Macao did not exhibit evident prosperity during this period, the continuous activity of Portuguese merchants and shipowners was decisive in opening, developing, expanding, and maintaining markets, while simultaneously inserting Macao into the network of rivalries and tensions among European traders and Asian commercial circuits. The study adopts a predominantly perspectival approach centered on the Portuguese community of Macao and, based on available historical evidence (with attention to gaps resulting from documentary loss), articulates discussions on: (i) Macao’s typology as a colonial port; (ii) urban political economy and its mechanisms for decision-making and conflict resolution; (iii) the behaviors of owners, operators, and investors, including the identification of ships, typologies, tonnage, and routes; and (iv) the general composition of goods circulated, contextualizing the relationship between navigation and hinterland in China’s modern economy. As a case study, the insertion of Portuguese trade in Batavia is examined in greater detail. It concludes that the Portuguese fleet was an integrated component of the Chinese maritime economy and mediated the flows of goods demanded in the Canton market.

This article examines the life and intellectual trajectory of Wu Yushan (Wu Li, 1632–1718), a renowned painter and poet, within the turbulent context of the Ming-Qing dynastic transition. Author Gu Weimin argues that Wu’s eventual conversion to Catholicism and his singular "pursuit of faith" were inextricably linked to his identity as a Ming loyalist (*yimin*). By analyzing Wu’s eminent family background—descending from a line of high-ranking Ming officials—the study highlights the profound sense of loss and political passion that defined his youth following the Manchu conquest. The article explores Wu’s social network, composed of prominent loyalist scholars and artists such as Qian Qianyi, whose shared resistance to the new regime influenced Wu’s moral and artistic development. Through a biographical and historiographical lens, Gu illustrates how Wu maintained his integrity amidst political upheaval, using his creative output to navigate the "devastating anguish" of his era. The research suggests that Wu’s religious transformation was not merely a personal shift but a complex response to the collapse of the Ming social order, representing a quest for spiritual certainty during a period of intense cultural crisis. Ultimately, the work provides a nuanced portrait of a scholar-artist whose search for faith served as a means of reconciling his loyalist identity with the realities of a new dynastic era.

The article by Huang Xiaofeng presents an interpretative introduction to the long scroll "An Autumn Dawn on Lakes and Hills" ("湖山秋曉圖卷"), by Wu Yushan (吳漁山/"Yushan"), analyzing how the work articulates seventeenth-century pictorial models with concrete memories of the Macau experience. The text situates the scroll within the context of heritage circulation (collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art) and, above all, employs the painter's own postscripts as a methodological basis for reconstructing the aesthetic intention and the author's affective relationship with the landscape. Huang argues that, although Wu declares a deliberate imitation of the Yuan masters Huang Gongwang and Wang Meng, the value of the scroll resides in the "permeability" between tradition and lived experience: the "lakes and hills" acquire "profound meanings" from places he actually observed, including Xiangshan (香山) and the territory of Macau, contemplated at a moment when artistic memory was still vividly sustained. As its principal conclusions, the article reads the work as a late project of cultural consolidation and self-reflection, in which pictorial practice—undertaken as a conscious effort before the deterioration of skill—transforms recollection into idealized nature, without negating the personal originality of Wu Yushan.

This article examines the judicial processes of homicide crimes that occurred in Macau during the Qing dynasty involving foreigners, taking as a limit the year 1849 (end of the government of João Ferreira do Amaral), a moment when a new legal order was consolidated in the territory. Based on the documentary preservation of administrative chancelleries and on records still extant in institutions such as the Torre do Tombo (Lisbon) and Chinese historical archives, the study reconstructs an overview of the 17 homicides recorded up to that point, characterizing the composition of the participants (mainly Chinese and Portuguese, as well as cases with other nationalities) and contextualizing their frequency within the demographic and spatial structure of the enclave. Methodologically, the work articulates the analysis of the cases with the evolution of Qing legal-administrative principles, especially the norms of the Great Qing Code and the Regulation associated with the 9th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1743). The conclusions show that the homicides, as a rule, did not result from premeditation, evidencing a predominance of assaults and sudden conflicts, and reveal the centrality of the circuit of official circulation and hierarchical review of sentences, culminating in imperial confirmation. The comparative reading of the cases also allows identifying how Qing legal categories conditioned the qualification of the crime and the proportionality of penalties.

This article examines the commercial activities of five members of the Ye family—Cudgin, Leunqua, Giqua, Tiauqua, and Yanqua—who operated within the Canton trade system between 1720 and 1804. While maritime historiography often focuses on the dominant "large houses" such as the Yan and Pan families, Paul A. Van Dyke argues that the Ye merchants provide a vital counter-narrative, representing the "small merchants" who navigated the trade with distinct strategies. Utilizing a range of European archival sources, including records from the English, Ostend, and Danish East India companies, the study reconstructs the business operations and social trajectories of these figures. The findings reveal that most Ye merchants adopted a cautious, thrifty approach, eschewing the aggressive expansion and heavy foreign debt characteristic of their larger competitors. They typically relied on middlemen rather than direct agents in China’s interior. Significantly, the article highlights Cudgin and Yanqua as rare, documented examples of Chinese merchants who successfully retired with substantial fortunes, challenging the traditional view that such financial preservation was nearly impossible under the Canton System. By detailing their involvement in the porcelain and tea trades, the article offers a more nuanced understanding of the economic diversity, risk management, and social mobility present in the eighteenth-century Pearl River Delta.

This article examines the life and legacy of Wu Yushan (Wu Li, 1632–1718), a renowned scholar-painter and pivotal figure in the history of cultural exchange between China and the West during the Ming-Qing transition. Drawing on genealogical records, such as the "Preface to the Wu Family Tree," and historical chronicles, the author reconstructs Wu’s development within the context of his prestigious but declining scholarly lineage in Changshu. The study details Wu’s early biography, tracing the influence of his ancestors—notably the prominent Ming officials Wu Na and Wu Tang—and the personal hardships that shaped his youth, including the early loss of his father and the socio-political upheaval following the Manchu conquest. Central to the narrative is Wu’s multifaceted identity as "Mojing Daoren" (the Ink-well Daoist) and his mastery of traditional Chinese aesthetics. The article explores how his artistic practice, particularly his landscape and "bamboo and rock" paintings, reflects both his classical training and his later transformative experiences. A significant focus is placed on Wu’s sojourn in Macao, a period that facilitated his deep engagement with Western scholarship and Catholicism. By synthesizing biographical detail with art historical analysis, the author argues that Wu Yushan represents a unique intersection of Chinese literati culture and early modern global exchange, positioning his works as essential artifacts of Sino-Western intellectual synthesis.