Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 3.djvu/752

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CHINA


672


CHINA


geres, Vicar Apostolic of Fu-kien, and later titular Bishop of Conon. issued a mandate condemning the Chinese Rites. Following the example of the Domin- icans, the Missions Etrangeres sent to Rome Louis deQuemener, who presented the pope with Maigrot's mandate (1696). Nicolas Charmot, Maigrot's en- voy, obtained a Brief from Innocent XII (15 Jan., 1697) and a decree from the Holy Office (3 July, 1697). The works of the Jesuit Father Le Comte, "Memoires sur la Chine" and "Lettre a Mgr le Due du Maine surles ceremonies de la Chine", added fuel to the flame and were censured by the Faculty of Theology of Paris (18 Oct., 1700), together with the "Hist, de l'eidit de l'Empereur de la Chine" by Pere Le Gobien, S. J. Finally, the Holy Office published a decree prohibiting the Chinese ceremonies (20 Nov., 1704). This was approved by Clement XI who ap- pointed as legatus a latere Charles Thomas de Tournon, Patriarch of Antioch, to carry the decree to China. Tournon arrived at Canton 8 April and was received at Peking by the Emperor K'ang-hi, who was favour- able to the Jesuits (31 Dec, 1705). After various controversies in which Maigrot and the Jesuit Visde- lou sided with the legate, K'ang-hi, who found the Jesuits better informed about China than their ad- versaries, ordered Tournon to leave Peking (2S Aug., 1705) and banished Maigrot (17 Dec, 1705). Tour- non issued a mandate at Nan-king (25 Jan., 1707). When he arrived at Macao he was thrown into a prison w r here he died (8 June, 1710) immediately after being named a cardinal. On 19 March, 1715, Clement XI issued the Bull "Ex ilia die". Anew legate, Mezzabarba, Patriarch of Alexandria, was sent to China. He arrived at Macao (26 Sept., 1720), went to Peking and was received by the emperor, who refused to accede to his demands. Finally, the whole knotty question was settled (11 July, 1742) by a Bull of Benedict XIV "Exquo singulari" condemningthe Chinese ceremonies and choosing the expression 1" n n- chu which was to be used exclusively to designate God. Missionaries to China had to take an oath not to discuss at any time the terms of the Bull. The bitterness of this celebrated quarrel was greatly in- creased by various causes: the rivalry of Portugal and France for the protectorate of the missions, the disputes between Jansenists and Jesuits, and the Bull "Unigenitus"; while the final decision was delayed as much by the question of episcopal sees in China as by the rites themselves. Rome having spoken, no more can be said here on the question, but it may be noted that the Bull "Ex quo singulari" was a terrible blow to the missions in China; there are fewer Chris- tians than formerly and none among the higher classes, as were the princes and mandarins of the court of K'ang-hi.

Creation of Vicariates Apostolic. — In 1577 Greg- ory XIII created for China, Japan, and the Far Eastern Islands, the Diocese of Macao, which was divided in 1587 into two dioceses, Macao and Funay (Japan). On 9 Sept., 1659, Alexander VII erected from the territory included within the Diocese of Macao, two vicariates Apostolic, one including be- sides Tong-king, the Chinese provinces of Yun-nan, Kwei-chou, Hu-kwang (now Hu-pe and Hu-nan *>. Sze- ch'wan, Kwang-si, and Laos, the other including, in ad- dition to Cochin-China, the Chinese provinces of Che- kiang, Fu-kien, Kwang-tung, Kiang-si, and the Island of Hainan. In 1690, Alexander VIII, to satisfy the Portuguese, created the Diocese of Peking, including Chi-li, Shan-tung, Shan-si, Shen-si, Ilo-nan, I.iao-tung. Kurra, and Tat ary, am 1 the Diocese of Nan-king, both dioceses being under the Archbishop of Goa. By a Bull of 15 Oct., 1696, Innocent XII erected the vica- riates Apostolic of Shen-si and Shan-si by taking part of the territory included in the Diocese of Peking (Chi-li, Shan-tung, Liao-tung, Korea, and Fatary), and limited the Diocese of Nan-king to Kiang-nan


and Ho-nan. The following vicariates were created out of the Diocese of Nan-king (1696): Hu-kwang, Fu-kien, Che-kiang, Kiang-si, Yun-nan, Sze-ch'wan, Kwei-chou; in 1737 these last two provinces were joined into one vicariate, to which Yun-nan was added in 1781. In 1840 Yun-nan was again detached, and in 1846 Kwei-chou became independent. In 1858 Sze-ch'wan was subdivided into Eastern and Western Sze-ch'wan. In 1860 Eastern Sze-ch'wan, with part of Western Sze-ch'wan, was divided into the Vicariates Apostolic of Southern Sze-ch'wan and Eastern Sze-ch'wan. In 1790 Fu-kien, Che-kiang, and Kiang-si were combined into one vicariate, but in 1838 divided into the vicariates of Fu-kien and Che-kiang Kiang-si. In 1883 Amov was se] is rated from Fu-kien; in 1846 Kiang-si was sep- arated from ( Ihe- kiang: in 1879 the vicariates of Northern and Southern Kiang- si were erected ; in 1885 the Vicariate of Eastern Kiang- si was created. In 1762 Hu-kwang %vas amalgamated with Shan-si and Shen-si but sepa- rated in 1838. Out of Hu-kwang were formed in 1S56 the vicariates of Hu-nan and Hu- pe; in 1879 Hu- nan was divided into the vicariates of Northern and Southern Hu-nan ; in 1876 Hu-pe was divided into Eastern, West- ern, and North- ern Hu-pe. In 1843 Shen-si and

Shan-si were separated; in 1885 Shen-si was divided into two vicariates, and in 1890 Shan-si was divided in a similar manner.

From the Diocese of Peking, Korea was detached in 1831, Liao-tung, Manchuria, etc., in 1838, and Shan- tung in 1S.39 ; in 1S56 the Diocese of Peking was divided into three vicariates: Northern, South- Western, and South-Eastern Chi-li; from the last named, Eastern Chi-li was separated in 1899. In 1SS3 Shan-tung was divided into Northern and Southern Shan-tung; Eastern Shan-tung was detached in 1S94. In 1S40 the vicariates of Mongolia and Kan-su were separated from Manchuria and later subdivided; in 1S43 Hong- Kong was taken from Macao; at Erst a prefecture, it was erected into a vicariate in 1S71; the two prov- inces of Kwang-tung and Kwang-si were detached from Macao in 1856 and formed into a prefecture, but were erected into separate prefectures in 1878. In 1856 Ho-nan was detached from the Diocese of Nan- king, and erected into a vicariate which was later subdivided.

Religious Orders. — Tin- Suc'uiij .>/ J mux Jesuits are the true founders of the missions in China. St. Francis Xavier, after evangelizing India and Japan, died in December, L552, on the Island of Shang-ch'wan (Saint Johns), before he could reach Macao or i 'anion. His successors, AJessandro Valig- nani (d, 20 Jan., 1606), Michele Ruggieri (d, 11 May. L607), and Francisco Pasio id. 30 Aug., 1612) did not penei rate beyond these two places and t lhao-k'ing

in the same province. Matteo Kicci had the honour