Who is Alvaro Urpi from The Tears of Autumn and what is their importance?

Alvaro Urpi is an expert in all dialects of Chinese, Urpi resembles a monk but has never taken orders. The son of a Portuguese soldier and a Cantonese women, Urpi is rescued from corruption in Macao at age 12 by Dominicans, who recognize his talent for scholarship. Paul Christopher brings Urpi the strips of ideographs taken from Saigon astrologist Yu Lung and within three days has translations of their dangerous message.