Reddit reviews The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci

you know what book you would like? this book. http://www.amazon.com/The-Memory-Palace-Matteo-Ricci/dp/0140080988

The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. This Book is about the life of Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit priest who traveled to China to convert oriental people to Catholicism. It deals with cultural shock basically, some fights between Dominicans and Franciscans, and talks a little about the method of Loci.

Nothing about Orders in Europe, or the life of monks in Occident.
It is about a Mission in China.
Quite interesting!

Some resources:

http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/16th-and-17th-century-ignatian-voices/matteo-ricci-sj

http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Palace-Matteo-Ricci/dp/0140080988

http://jesuits.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20140219034957

https://www.lib.umn.edu/bell/riccimap/matteoricci

You're right on. I'm starting by talking about memory palaces (also called "the method of the loci"), which are apparently first referenced in Rhetorica Ad Herenium a book attributed to Cicero. If you're interested in the Medieval revival of the memory palace arts, check out Frances Yates, especially her book The Art of Memory.

Matteo Ricci used the method of the loci to help Chinese students study for their imperial examinations. If you're interested in learning more about him, read Jonathan Spence's The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. Also, for something more contemporary, Jonathan Foer's book Moonwalking with Einstein discusses how memory palace techniques are still used to win memory competitions.

He could be the patron saint of mnemonics! http://www.amazon.de/The-Memory-Palace-Matteo-Ricci/dp/0140080988

Hannibal by Thomas Harris had a very, um, memorable memory palace in it. IIRC, Harris based Hannibal's palace on the ones described in The Memory Palace of Mateo Ricci, by Jonathan Spence, which is hard to find but interesting. The Memory Book by Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas (yes, that Jerry Lucas) is another great source of mnemonic hacks.