Pedro Nolasco da Silva

Pedro Nolasco da Silva (; 6 May 1842 – 12 October 1912) was a Macanese interpreter-translator, teacher, civil servant, writer, journalist and politician. Amongst other important positions, he was President of the Municipal Council of Macau (; ), founding partner and president of the (, APIM), founder and director of the Pedro Nolasco Commercial School , head of the and patron of the Holy House of Mercy (; ) of Macau.

Early life and education Of Portuguese nationality and born on 6 May 1842 into a long-established and prominent Macanese family, Nolasco da Silva was the son of Pedro Nolasco da Silva (1803–1874) and Severina Angélica Baptista (1805–1875). His family had lived in Macau as early as the 18th century.

At the age of 24, Nolasco da Silva emigrated to Hong Kong, where he became one of the first correspondents and editors of the newspaper Daily Press. But after catching malaria, and already suffering from diabetes, he decided to return to Macau and the Administration for Chinese Business. Following this restructuring, Nolasco da Silva was chosen to be the first head of the , a position he held until 1892, when he retired from the civil service. This appointment was the result of his brilliant career as an interpreter-translator, marked by the translation of classical Chinese texts into Portuguese, official documents from Portuguese into Chinese and vice versa, and his translation services provided in various official missions abroad. His in-depth knowledge of the Chinese language allowed him to translate and communicate in five different Chinese dialects, including Mandarin and Cantonese

The following year, to minimise this tragedy, a group of 19 rich and influential Portuguese-speaking citizens of Macau, headed by Nolasco da Silva, decided to found the Association Promoting the Instruction of Macanese (APIM), a Portuguese-based private limited company dedicated to the development of local education. One of the initial and main objectives of APIM was to establish an educational establishment, centered on the commerce sector, which would allow Macanese and other Macau residents to occupy important positions in the civil service or in companies in Hong Kong or Shanghai. and Pedro Nolasco Commercial School, both of them now defunct predecessors of the Macau Portuguese School ( (EPM); ).

List of works Nolasco da Silva left behind a vast body of written work, including his numerous translations, mostly of works about Chinese language and culture. The following stand out:

Circle of Knowledge in Portuguese and China. For use by those beginning to learn the Chinese language (1884) Fables (1884) Usual Phrases of the Canton and Peking Dialects (1884) Practical Grammar of the Chinese Language (1886 The Rudiments of the Chinese Language for Use by Male Central School Students (1895) Manual of the Sinic Language, Written and Spoken (1903) To the Public: In Defence of the Association Promoting the Instruction of Macanese attacked by the Bulletin of the Ecclesiastical Government of the Diocese of Macau, by the President of the same Association (1908) Cantonese Dialect Compass (1911) Book for the Teaching of National Literature (1912)

In the Manual of the Sinic Language, Written and Spoken, there is a Portuguese translation by Nolasco da Silva of the Amplification of the Holy Decree, by the Yongzheng Emperor. According to its distinguished translator, this Chinese book "is written in a modern, elegant and clear style, [and] contains an interesting and instructive outline of the principles of Chinese morals".