Medieval Roman Catholic Missions in China
Encyclopedia
The second major thrust of Christianity into China occurred during the 13th century. The Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan
, began reaching outward from Central Asia
, invading neighbouring countries and incorporating them into an empire that at its height included northern China and extended westward to Persia, Mesopotamia and parts of Eastern Europe. The empire was later divided into 4 major divisions, and the eastern-most one was the Yuan Dynasty
, which ruled all of China from 1279 to 1368. A political bridge was thereby provided that surmounted the vast wasteland of Asia
and eventually brought China into direct contact with Western Christianity.
Because the Mongols were known for their religious tolerance, political hegemony and outright patronage, the Nestorians
flourished throughout Central Asia. Those who were living on the frontiers of China were emboldened to return. Their subservience to the Mongols meant that they tended to serve Mongol rather than Chinese interests. They located in the key cities along major trade routes in relative isolation from the Chinese people.
When the Mongol threat to Europe was at its height, reports came to Rome of Asian Christians living freely within what they regarded as "a sea of pagan violence". Particularly astonishing and exciting to many Europeans was a vague reference by Otto of Freising
in his Chronicle to "a certain ‘Presbyter Johannes’ (Prester John
) – a king and a priest and a Christian".
to convert the Tartars. On his journey eastward, William first met Sartaq Khan
, ruler of the Kipchak Khanate, who sent William on to his father, Batu Khan
, at Sarai
near the Volga. Batu refused conversion but sent William on to the Great Khan Mangu in Karakorum
, where he was received courteously, staying there until July 10, 1254, and then returning to the West in 1255. William provided an extensive 40-chapter report describing the cultural and geographical elements of Mongolia, and his observations of the practices of both Nestorian Christianity and Islam
in Asia.
At one point of his stay among the Mongols, William entered into a famous competition at the Mongol court. The khan encouraged a formal debate between the Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims, to determine which faith was correct, as determined by three judges, one from each faith.
In 1271, the Marco Polo
brothers brought an invitation from Kublai Khan
to Pope Gregory X
, imploring him that a hundred teachers of science and religion be sent to reinforce the Nestorian Christianity already present in his vast empire. This came to naught due to the hostility of influential Nestorians within the Mongol court, who objected to the introduction of the Western (Roman Catholic) form of Christianity to supplant their own Nestorian doctrine. In response, in 1289 Pope Nicholas IV
sent the Franciscan John of Monte Corvino to China
by way of India
. Although the great khan had already died by the time John arrived (1294), the court at Khanbaliq
received him graciously and encouraged him to settle there. John was China’s first Roman Catholic missionary
, and he was significantly successful. He laboured largely in the Mongol tongue
, translated the New testament
and Psalms
, built a central church, and within a few years (by 1305) could report six thousand baptized converts. In 1307, Pope Clement V
named John of Montecorvino the first Archbishop
of Khanbalik and Patriarch of the Orient.
in Avignon
was sent by Toghun Temür, the last Mongol emperor in China (Yuan dynasty
), in 1336. The embassy was led by a Genoese in the service of the Mongol emperor, Andrea di Nascio, and accompanied by another Genoese, Andalò di Savignone. These letters from the Mongol ruler represented that they had been eight years (since Monte Corvino's death) without a spiritual guide, and earnestly desired one. The pope replied to the letters, and appointed four ecclesiastics as his legates to the khan's court. At the same time, the Alars from the Black Sea
, converted by John of Montecorvino
, dispatched an embassy to Rome
in 1338 to ask for a bishop
.
Rome’s reply was to send John of Marignolli, who accompanied by fifty fellow Franciscans, left Avignon
that same year and reached Khanbaliq in 1342. He brought a gift of a Western warhorse to the emperor as recorded in the Yuan Dynasty annals. John of Marignolli left China in 1347 and reached Avignon in 1353. He delivered a letter from the great khan to Pope Innocent VI
.
during the latter half of the 14th century in Europe so depleted Franciscan houses that they were unable to sustain the mission to China. Secondly, the Yuan Dynasty began to decline. In 1362 the last Catholic bishop of Quanzhou
, Giacomo da Firenze, was killed by the Chinese who seized control of the city. The Chinese rose up and drove out the Mongols, thereby launching the Ming Dynasty
(1368). By 1369 all Christians, whether Roman Catholic or Syro-Oriental, were expelled by the Ming Dynasty founded by the Chinese. But it must be pointed out that the Franciscan success was principally with the Turko-Mongols and foreigners, not with the Chinese. The Syro-Oriental Church that had translated a significant body of literature into Chinese was considered too close to the ruling regime.
Regarding mission practice it seems that no translation of the full Bible
was ever made into Turkic languages
, Chinese or other vernacular languages.
The eventual collapse of the Mongol empire into warring factions, and loss of the flourishing exchanges which the empire had made possible across the region, isolated and weakened countless churches. Widespread warfare, the destruction of water and food supplies and forced migration
then frequently ended or crippled the life of local churches. Then a new Turkic-Mongol uprising erupted in the broad reaches of Central Asia under Tamerlane (1387) and menaced both East and West. Tamerlane was a Muslim
convert, and he turned with fury on Roman Christians and Nestorians alike. Few survived.
In 1370, following the ousting of the Mongols from China, and the establishment of the Chinese Ming dynasty
, a new mission was sent by the Pope to China formed by the Parisian theologian Guillaume du Pré as the new archbishop and 50 Franciscans. This mission however disappeared without news, apparently eliminated.
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
, began reaching outward from Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, invading neighbouring countries and incorporating them into an empire that at its height included northern China and extended westward to Persia, Mesopotamia and parts of Eastern Europe. The empire was later divided into 4 major divisions, and the eastern-most one was the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, which ruled all of China from 1279 to 1368. A political bridge was thereby provided that surmounted the vast wasteland of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and eventually brought China into direct contact with Western Christianity.
Nestorian Christianity among the Mongols
Because the Mongols were known for their religious tolerance, political hegemony and outright patronage, the Nestorians
Nestorianism
Nestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
flourished throughout Central Asia. Those who were living on the frontiers of China were emboldened to return. Their subservience to the Mongols meant that they tended to serve Mongol rather than Chinese interests. They located in the key cities along major trade routes in relative isolation from the Chinese people.
When the Mongol threat to Europe was at its height, reports came to Rome of Asian Christians living freely within what they regarded as "a sea of pagan violence". Particularly astonishing and exciting to many Europeans was a vague reference by Otto of Freising
Otto of Freising
Otto von Freising was a German bishop and chronicler.-Life:He was the fifth son of Leopold III, margrave of Austria, by his wife Agnes, daughter of the emperor Henry IV...
in his Chronicle to "a certain ‘Presbyter Johannes’ (Prester John
Prester John
The legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...
) – a king and a priest and a Christian".
William of Rubruck
In 1253, the Franciscan William of Rubruck was sent by Louis IXLouis IX
Louis IX may refer to:* Louis IX of France .* Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria "the Rich" * Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt ....
to convert the Tartars. On his journey eastward, William first met Sartaq Khan
Sartaq Khan
Sartaq Khan was the son of Batu Khan and Regent Dowager Khatun Boraqcin of Alchi Tatar. Sartaq succeeded Batu as khan of the Ulus of Jochi ....
, ruler of the Kipchak Khanate, who sent William on to his father, Batu Khan
Batu Khan
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...
, at Sarai
Sarai (city)
Sarai was the name of two cities, which were successively capital cities of the Golden Horde, the Mongol kingdom which ruled Russia and much of central Asia in the 13th and 14th centuries...
near the Volga. Batu refused conversion but sent William on to the Great Khan Mangu in Karakorum
Karakorum
Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...
, where he was received courteously, staying there until July 10, 1254, and then returning to the West in 1255. William provided an extensive 40-chapter report describing the cultural and geographical elements of Mongolia, and his observations of the practices of both Nestorian Christianity and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in Asia.
At one point of his stay among the Mongols, William entered into a famous competition at the Mongol court. The khan encouraged a formal debate between the Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims, to determine which faith was correct, as determined by three judges, one from each faith.
John of Montecorvino (1294-1328)
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
brothers brought an invitation from Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
to Pope Gregory X
Pope Gregory X
Pope Blessed Gregory X , born Tebaldo Visconti, was Pope from 1271 to 1276. He was elected by the papal election, 1268–1271, the longest papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church....
, imploring him that a hundred teachers of science and religion be sent to reinforce the Nestorian Christianity already present in his vast empire. This came to naught due to the hostility of influential Nestorians within the Mongol court, who objected to the introduction of the Western (Roman Catholic) form of Christianity to supplant their own Nestorian doctrine. In response, in 1289 Pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV , born Girolamo Masci, was Pope from February 22, 1288 to April 4, 1292. A Franciscan friar, he had been legate to the Greeks under Pope Gregory X in 1272, succeeded Bonaventure as Minister General of his religious order in 1274, was made Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede and...
sent the Franciscan John of Monte Corvino 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...
by way of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Although the great khan had already died by the time John arrived (1294), the court at Khanbaliq
Khanbaliq
Khanbaliq or Dadu refers to a city which is now Beijing, the current capital of the People's Republic of China...
received him graciously and encouraged him to settle there. John was China’s first Roman Catholic missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, and he was significantly successful. He laboured largely in the Mongol tongue
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
, translated the New testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, built a central church, and within a few years (by 1305) could report six thousand baptized converts. In 1307, Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...
named John of Montecorvino the first Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Khanbalik and Patriarch of the Orient.
Odoric of Pordenone
One of John’s most vigorous younger missionaries was Odorico da Pordenone (1265–1331), who arrived in Khanbaliq by way of India in 1326. His subsequent sixteen years of unremitting journeys throughout China, preaching the gospel in the vernacular, resulted in over twenty thousand converts. (Some scholars reported that by 1381 the total number of communicants exceeded a hundred thousand.)John of Marignolli (1342-1347)
Following the death of Montecorvino, an embassy to the French Pope Benedict XIIPope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...
in Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
was sent by Toghun Temür, the last Mongol emperor in China (Yuan dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
), in 1336. The embassy was led by a Genoese in the service of the Mongol emperor, Andrea di Nascio, and accompanied by another Genoese, Andalò di Savignone. These letters from the Mongol ruler represented that they had been eight years (since Monte Corvino's death) without a spiritual guide, and earnestly desired one. The pope replied to the letters, and appointed four ecclesiastics as his legates to the khan's court. At the same time, the Alars from the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, converted by John of Montecorvino
John of Montecorvino
John of Montecorvino or Giovanni da Montecorvino in Italian was an Italian Franciscan missionary, traveler and statesman, founder of the earliest Roman Catholic missions in India and China, and archbishop of Peking, and Latin Patriarch of the Orient.-Biography:John was born at Montecorvino...
, dispatched an embassy 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...
in 1338 to ask for a bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
.
Rome’s reply was to send John of Marignolli, who accompanied by fifty fellow Franciscans, left Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
that same year and reached Khanbaliq in 1342. He brought a gift of a Western warhorse to the emperor as recorded in the Yuan Dynasty annals. John of Marignolli left China in 1347 and reached Avignon in 1353. He delivered a letter from the great khan to Pope Innocent VI
Pope Innocent VI
Pope Innocent VI , born Étienne Aubert; his father was Adhemar Aubert seigneur de Montel-De-Gelas in Limousin province. His niece was Catherine Aubert, Dame de Boutheon, also the wife of Randon II baron de Joyeuse; she is La Fayette's ancestor...
.
End of the missions
The Missions were of relatively short duration. Two massive political catastrophes also hastened the extinction of this second wave of missionaries to China. Firstly, the Black DeathBlack Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
during the latter half of the 14th century in Europe so depleted Franciscan houses that they were unable to sustain the mission to China. Secondly, the Yuan Dynasty began to decline. In 1362 the last Catholic bishop of Quanzhou
Quanzhou
Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two and faces the Taiwan Strait...
, Giacomo da Firenze, was killed by the Chinese who seized control of the city. The Chinese rose up and drove out the Mongols, thereby launching the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
(1368). By 1369 all Christians, whether Roman Catholic or Syro-Oriental, were expelled by the Ming Dynasty founded by the Chinese. But it must be pointed out that the Franciscan success was principally with the Turko-Mongols and foreigners, not with the Chinese. The Syro-Oriental Church that had translated a significant body of literature into Chinese was considered too close to the ruling regime.
Regarding mission practice it seems that no translation of the full Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
was ever made into Turkic languages
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
, Chinese or other vernacular languages.
The eventual collapse of the Mongol empire into warring factions, and loss of the flourishing exchanges which the empire had made possible across the region, isolated and weakened countless churches. Widespread warfare, the destruction of water and food supplies and forced migration
Forced migration
Forced migration refers to the coerced movement of a person or persons away from their home or home region...
then frequently ended or crippled the life of local churches. Then a new Turkic-Mongol uprising erupted in the broad reaches of Central Asia under Tamerlane (1387) and menaced both East and West. Tamerlane was a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
convert, and he turned with fury on Roman Christians and Nestorians alike. Few survived.
In 1370, following the ousting of the Mongols from China, and the establishment of the Chinese Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, a new mission was sent by the Pope to China formed by the Parisian theologian Guillaume du Pré as the new archbishop and 50 Franciscans. This mission however disappeared without news, apparently eliminated.
See also
- Christianity in ChinaChristianity in ChinaChristianity in China is a growing minority religion that comprises Protestants , Catholics , and a small number of Orthodox Christians. Although its lineage in China is not as ancient as the institutional religions of Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism, and the social system and ideology of...
- Nestorianism in China
- Christianity among the MongolsChristianity among the MongolsIn modern times the Mongols are primarily Buddhist, but in previous eras, especially during the time of the Mongol "empire" , they were primarily shamanist and had a substantial minority of Christians, many of whom were in positions of considerable power. Overall, Mongols were highly tolerant of...
- Franco-Mongol allianceFranco-Mongol allianceFranco-Mongol relations were established in the 13th century, as attempts were made towards forming a Franco-Mongol alliance between the Christian Crusaders and the Mongol Empire against various Muslim empires. Such an alliance would have seemed a logical choice: the Mongols were sympathetic to...
- Medical missions in ChinaMedical missions in ChinaMedical missions in China by Protestant Christian physicians and surgeons of the 19th and early 20th centuries laid many foundations for modern medicine in China. Western medical missionaries established the first modern clinics and hospitals,provided the first training for nurses, and opened the...