Jean de Fontaney
Encyclopedia
Jean de Fontaney was a French Jesuit who led a mission to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 in 1687.

Jean de Fontaney had been a teacher of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

 and astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 at the College Louis le Grand. He was asked by king Louis XIV to set up a mission to China, following a request by Ferdinand Verbiest
Ferdinand Verbiest
Father Ferdinand Verbiest was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in Flanders, later part of the modern state of Belgium. He is known as Nan Huairen in Chinese...

, in order to spread French and Catholic influence at the Chinese court with the pretext of transmitting scientific knowledge. Jean de Fontaney assembled a group of five other Jesuits to accompany him, all highly skilled in sciences, namely Joachim Bouvet
Joachim Bouvet
Joachim Bouvet was a French Jesuit who worked in China, and the leading member of the Figurist movement.-Biography:...

, Jean-François Gerbillon
Jean-François Gerbillon
Jean-François Gerbillon was a French missionary, who worked in China.He entered the Society of Jesus, 5 Oct, 1670, and after completing the usual course of study taught grammar and humanities for seven years...

, Louis-Daniel Lecomte, Guy Tachard
Guy Tachard
Guy Tachard , also known as Père Tachard, was a French Jesuit missionary and mathematician of the 17th century, who was sent on two occasions to the Kingdom of Siam by Louis XIV...

, and Claude de Visdelou
Claude de Visdelou
Claude de Visdelou was a French Jesuit missionary.-Life:De Visdelou was born at the Château de Bienassis, Erquy, Brittany. He entered the Society of Jesus on 5 September 1673, and was one of the missionaries sent to China by Louis XIVin 1687. He acquired a wide knowledge of the Chinese language...

.

Guy Tachard remained in Siam were he was to have a major role, while Jean de Fontaney led the four remaining Fathers to China, where they arrived in February 1688. Upon their arrival in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 they were received by the Kangxi Emperor
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...

 who was favorably impressed by them and retained Jean-François Gerbillion and Joachim Bouvet at the court.

Jean de Fontaney returned to Europe in 1702, where he became Rector of the Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand in La Flèche
La Flèche
La Flèche is a municipality located in the French department of Sarthe and the region of Pays de la Loire in the Loire Valley. This is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton. This is the second most populous city of the department. The city is part...

, until 1710.

See also

  • Jesuit China missions
    Jesuit China missions
    The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a significant role in continuing the transmission of...

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