Artus de Lionne
Encyclopedia
Abbé
Abbé is the French word for abbot. It is the title for lower-ranking Catholic clergymen in France....
and Bishop of Rosalie in partibus infidelium, in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, was a French missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society
Paris Foreign Missions Society
The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious order, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons dedicated to missionary work in foreign lands....
. He was a son of Louis XIV's Foreign Minister, Hugues de Lionne
Hugues de Lionne
Hugues de Lionne was a French statesman.He was born in Grenoble, of an old family of Dauphiné. Early trained for diplomacy, he fell into disgrace under Cardinal Richelieu, but his remarkable abilities attracted the notice of Cardinal Mazarin, who sent him as secretary of the French embassy to the...
.
Artus de Lionne was born in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1655. He first left for Siam as a missionary, in 1681.
He returned to France in 1686, serving as translator to the embassy of the Siamese Kosa Pan
Kosa Pan
Pan , known by his rank Chao Phraya Kosathibodi or former rank Ok Phra Wisut Sunthon or by the nickname Kosa Pan , was a Siamese diplomat and minister who led the Second Siamese Embassy to France sent by king Narai in 1686...
to the court of Louis XIV. Artus de Lionne then returned to Siam with the Siamese embassy in 1687 on board the ships of the French ambassador Simon de la Loubère
Simon de la Loubère
Simon de la Loubère was a French diplomat, writer, mathematician and poet.-Mission to Siam:Simon de la Loubère led an embassy to Siam in 1687 . The embassy, composed of five warships, arrived in Bangkok in October 1687 and was received by Ok-khun Chamnan...
. He played a role in the negotiation between the French and Siamese sides during the 1688 Siamese Revolution
Siamese revolution (1688)
The Siamese revolution of 1688 was a major popular upheaval in the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom which led to the overthrow of the pro-foreign Siamese king Narai...
, which resulted in the expulsion of the French forces. Artus de Lionne left Siam with General Desfarges following the French defeat in the Siege of Bangkok
Siege of Bangkok
The Siege of Bangkok was a key event of the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which the Siamese people ousted the French from Siam. Following a coup d'état, in which the pro-Western king Narai was replaced by Phetracha, Siamese troops besieged the French fortress in Bangkok for four months...
, leaving Mgr Louis Laneau
Louis Laneau
Louis Laneau was a French Bishop of the 17th century who was active in the kingdom of Siam . He was a member of the Paris Foreign Missions Society...
a prisoner of the Siamese for several years.
Artus de Lionne then went to China as a missionary in 1689, where he worked with Bishop Maigrot in Fukien
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province. He was for a time the archbishop of Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
. There, he was an opponent of the Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
and took the opposite side in the Chinese Rites controversy
Chinese Rites controversy
The Chinese Rites controversy was a dispute within the Catholic Church from the 1630s to the early 18th century about whether Chinese folk religion rites and offerings to the emperor constituted idolatry...
.
Arcadio Huang
Arcadio Huang, also Arcadius Huang or Arcade Huang , was a Chinese Christian convert, brought to Paris by the Missions étrangères. He took a pioneering role in the teaching of the Chinese language in France around 1715...
. Artus de Lionne and Arcadio Huang embarked on a ship of the English East India Company in order to reach London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. By September or October 1702, they left England for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in order to travel to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. On the verge of being ordained a priest in Rome and being presented to the pope to demonstrate the reality of Chinese Christianity, Arcadio Huang apparently renounced and declined ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
. Artus de Lionne preferred to return to Paris to further his education, and wait for a better answer.
In 1705-1707, Artus de Lionne accompanied the mission of Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon
Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon
Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon was a papal legate and cardinal to the East Indies and China.-Biography:...
to the Chinese Emperor Kang Hsi. The mission affirmed the prohibition of Chinese rites
Chinese Rites controversy
The Chinese Rites controversy was a dispute within the Catholic Church from the 1630s to the early 18th century about whether Chinese folk religion rites and offerings to the emperor constituted idolatry...
in 1707, but was as a result banished to Macao
Mação
Mação is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 400.0 km² and a total population of 7,763 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of eight parishes, and is located in the Santarém District....
.
Artus de Lionne significantly influenced the editing of the 1707 treatise against Chinese philosophy of Nicolas Malebranche
Nicolas Malebranche
Nicolas Malebranche ; was a French Oratorian and rationalist philosopher. In his works, he sought to synthesize the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the active role of God in every aspect of the world...
, (Entretien d'un philosophe Chrétien et d'un philosophe chinois sur l'existence et la nature de Dieu). He died in Paris in 1713.
Works
- Chinese Manual: Sse Tse Ouen Tsien Tchou Four Words Literature (with) Commentary (or) Explication. ("Recueil de Phrases Chinoises, Composées de Quatre Caractères Et Dont Les Explications Sont Rangées Dans L'ordre Alphabétique Français")
- Lionne, Artus de: Le journal de voyage au Siam de l'abbé de Lionne; suivi de Mémoire sur l'affaire. Paris: "Églises d'Asie", 2001. ISBN 2-914402-33-3