A new look for the Jade Fiend

I took a break from my daily schedule of writing 1000 words of my next book, followed by a visit to my jade studio to feature in a new documentary for Chinese TV. This time it wasn’t about jade. I spent three days on set playing the role of the Jesuit priest, Matteo Ricci. He was a missionary, and scholar who played a pivotal role in introducing Christianity and Western science to China in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century during the Ming dynasty. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cultural exchange between China and the West. It took more than an hour to prepare me for the role with make up, beard and clothing. Very intense work on set. Thoroughly enjoyed it and very different from appearing live on Chinese TV or recording a documentary about jade. Great fun.