Beijing
Capital of China and seat of the Ming court when Matteo Ricci arrived in 1601 with gifts for the Wanli emperor. The Jesuits kept a house in the city, and the emperor granted a burial place there for Ricci after his death in 1610.
The Jesuit Diego de Pantoja, writing from the city in 1602, calls it “Paquin”, the court of the king of China (Pantoja, Letter of 1602, Purchas 12, pp. 331, 348). Matteo Ricci and his companions reached it on 24 January 1601 (Ricci and Trigault, De Christiana expeditione 4.12 (pp. 405–407)). When Ricci died in 1610 the Jesuits petitioned the emperor for a burial place, since no one might be buried inside the walls, and were granted a site for the grave and for a house (Ricci and Trigault, De Christiana expeditione 5.20–21 (pp. 615–626)). See Matteo Ricci at the Court of Beijing.
What happened here
- 1245 to 1307, firm dateFranciscan Envoys to the Mongols and the Church of Khanbaliq
Innocent IV sends Franciscans to the Mongol khan in 1245 and is told in reply to come and submit. William of Rubruck debates before the khan’s umpires at the Mongol court in 1254. By 1305 John of Montecorvino has a church and a choir in Khanbaliq.
- 1287 to 1288, firm dateRabban Sauma, a Monk from Beijing, Visits Rome and Paris
Rabban Sauma, a monk of the Church of the East born in Khanbaliq, comes west as envoy of the Mongol king Arghun. He recites his creed to the cardinals in Rome, meets the kings of France and England, and in 1288 receives communion from Pope Nicholas IV.
- 24 January 1601, firm dateMatteo Ricci at the Court of Beijing
The Jesuit Matteo Ricci reaches Beijing in January 1601 with gifts for the Wanli emperor and is allowed to stay. He writes a catechism that argues from reason and the Chinese classics, and scholars such as Xu Guangqi are baptized and work with him.
- 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.
- 1784, firm dateKorean Scholars Found a Church
Korean scholars who had read Christian books from Beijing send one of their own with an embassy; Yi Seung-hun is baptized there in 1784, returns to Seoul and baptizes his friends. A church grows with no priest in the country, and meets persecution.
- 1950 to 1954, firm dateThe Chinese Church under the People’s Republic
Protestant leaders in the new People’s Republic sign a manifesto pledging loyalty to the state and an end to foreign ties, and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement is organised. Some pastors refuse to join, and Rome rejects a self-governing Catholic church.