ECCLESIASTICAL.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
By Father J. de Moidrey, S.J., of Siccawei.
The Nestorians.
T is uncertain whether St. Thomas carried the faith as far east as China, but the inscription on the famous stone at Singanfu, the authenticity of which is beyond question, makes it certain that the Nestorian priest Olopen brought the religion of Christ to China in 635 A.D. It flourished for centuries, and there were still Nestorians at the time of Marco Polo.
The Mediæval Church.
The second period in the history of the Chinese missions opens in 1246, when the Franciscan friar, John of Plano Carpini, set out from Lyons, in France, reached Karakorum, the residence of the successors of Gengis Khan, and founded the great Christian settlement of Peking. St. Louis, king of France, sent presents to the Tartar princes through Friar William of Rubruquis, who brought him back a letter and a silk gown. Such was the success of the Franciscan missionaries that John of Montecorvino was consecrated Archbishop of Khambalu, or Peking, in 1308, with seven suffragan bishops, only three of whom, however, reached China. Another diocese was created at Zaitun in Fokien. The Blessed Odoric of Pordenone, and others, preached in many provinces. Thousands of converts had been baptized, several Franciscan monasteries had been founded, and there was hope of further development when the Tartar dynasty was overthrown by the Ming in 1368. During the period of disturbance which followed, the Chinese Church became isolated from the west. It was not abandoned, however. From 1370 to 1400, the Franciscan Order sent more than one hundred of its sons to distant Cathay. But, sad to say, it is not even certain whether they reached their destination. Nothing of the mediæval church of China remains, not even the annals of its decline or the names of its martyrs.
Beginnings of the Present Mission.
The overland route to China being now closed, the third, or actual, epoch in the history of the mission dates from the discovery of the sea route. St. Francis Xavier, the apostle of Japan, died on the island of Sancian, in December, 1552, in sight of the mainland of China, which he had longed to win to Christ. Three years later, the Dominican, Gaspard of the Cross, was the first to set foot in China by the south route. He was succeeded in 1575 by the Augustinian friars, Martin de Rada and Jerom Marin. Both missions, however, proved unsuccessful. In 1583 the Jesuits Ruggieri and Pasio, soon followed by the celebrated Matthew Ricci, and several of their brethren, were able to settle at Chaokingfu, near Canton, where they built a chapel and residence, and made numerous converts. Their field of action was soon extended to Nanking and Hangchow in Chekiang (where the graves of some of the first pioneers are still to be seen), and a few other places.
Missionaries at Peking.
Ricci had understood that the success of the mission must not be left to the mercy of local Mandarin caprice. He therefore set out, in 1595, for Peking, and resolved to gain admittance to the Emperor himself. After six years' effort he obtained permission to establish himself at the capital. His friendly relations with the monarch and the élite of the capital, and the protection afforded by the high Mandarins, enabled his brethren in the provinces to announce with courage the name of Jesus Christ to the poor and ignorant. Foremost among his noble disciples was Paul Siu, or Zi, of Shanghai, a Prime Minister, and the true founder of the Church of the Sungkiangfu, in which prefecture Shanghai is situated. The grave of Zi is seen at Zi-ka-wei (or Siccawei). This great result was obtained in less than fifteen years, and when Ricci died, on May 10, 1610, his funeral, at the imperial expense, was the consecration of the establishment of the Church in China.
Ricci was succeeded by Longobardi as superior of the Jesuits in China. Others remained in Peking as astronomers, the best known among them being Adam Schall von Bell. After the overthrow of the Chinese dynasty, the Manchus created Schall president of the Board of Mathematics in February, 1645, and entrusted him with the task of reforming the Chinese calendar. In 1650 he received an imperial edict so highly praising his life and work, that it has sometimes been understood as a positive approval of his faith and an authorisation to preach it. His successor, Ferdinand Verbiest, enjoyed the friendship of the great Emperor Kanghi. His death took place in 1688. Up to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Board of Astronomy was presided over by various missionaries. A second residence, founded by the French Jesuits, also exercised a powerful influence in favour of the evangelisation of the provinces.
The friendship of the imperial demi-god was only maintained at the expense of
