Kangxi
The emperor of China under whom Christian worship was permitted in 1692. In 1700 he approved the Jesuits’ account of the rites for Confucius and the ancestors, and in 1721, after Rome had forbidden those rites, he wrote that Westerners should no longer preach in China.
The decision of March 1692, taken by the Board of Rites at his order and, by the Jesuits’ account, confirmed by him, left the churches of the empire standing and allowed anyone to worship in them (Kangxi, edict of 1692 order and decision of March 1692, in Le Gobien, pp. 181–185 and 190). The Jesuits at Beijing report that on 30 November 1700 they submitted to the emperor a statement of how they understood the honours paid to Heaven, Confucius and the ancestors, and that he replied that it was very well written, agreed with the great doctrine and needed no correction (Jesuits of Beijing, Brevis Relatio p. 11).
In 1721, on reading a proclamation that the sourcebook identifies as the papal decree against the rites, he wrote that Westerners did not understand Chinese matters and should not be allowed to preach in China (Kangxi, comment of 1721 excerpt). See the Chinese Rites Controversy.
In the timeline
- 1704 to 1742, firm dateThe Chinese Rites Controversy
Jesuit missionaries let Chinese converts honour Confucius and their ancestors as civil customs; others call the rites superstitious. Rome forbids them in 1704, 1715 and 1742, the Kangxi emperor says Westerners should no longer preach, and in 1939 Rome allows them as civil acts.
Primary sources
Brevis Relatio (A Short Account of the Declaration of the Emperor of China on the Honours Paid to Heaven, Confucius and the Ancestors)
- Jesuits of Beijing, Brevis Relatio p. 11archive.org
The Kangxi Emperor’s Comment on the Papal Decree
- Kangxi, comment of 1721 excerptsourcebooks.fordham.edu