Xavier Ehrenbert Fridelli (11 March 1673 – 4 June 1743) was an Austrian
Jesuit missionary and cartographer in
China.
Life
Born at
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, Fridelli entered the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
in 1688 and in 1705 arrived in China. Fridelli was an important contributor to the cartographical survey of the Chinese empire, begun in 1708 and completed in 1718 (according to others, 1715).
Baron Richthofen says this is "the most comprehensive cartographic feat ever performed in so short a space of time.
[(China, Berlin, 1877, I, 661, see 631 sq.)] Together with
Jean-Baptiste Régis
Jean-Baptiste Régis (11 June 1663 or 29 January 1664 – 24 November 1738) was a French Jesuit missionary in imperial China.
Biography and works
He was born at Istres, in Provence, on 11 June 1663, or 29 January 1664; died in Beijing on 24 Nov ...
,
Pierre Jartoux
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, and others, he designed the maps of
Chi-li, the
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...
district,
Khalkas
The Khalkha ( Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin kha ...
(Mongolia),
Sze-ch'wan,
Yun-nan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
,
Kwei-chou, and
Hu-kwang (
Hu-nan and
Hu-pe), for which purpose the traversed the whole empire from south to north. At the time of his death, Fridelli had been rector for many years of the Southern or Portuguese church (
Nan-t'ang), one of the four Jesuit churches at
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, where he died. He was buried in the Jesuits'
Zhalan Cemetery in Beijing.
References
; Attribution
* The entry cites:
** Five letters in N. Welt-Bott (Augsbirg, 1726, and Vienna, 1758), nos. 103, 106, 194, 589, 674;
** MSS report in the Vienna state library, no, 1117;
** Du Halde
''Description de l'Empire de la Chine''(the Hague, 1736), I, preface, p. xxxviii;
** Huonder, ''Deutsche Jesuitenmissionäre'' (Freiburg im Br., 1899), 87, 186
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fridelli, Xavier Ehrenbert
1673 births
1743 deaths
18th-century Austrian Jesuits
Austrian Roman Catholic missionaries
Roman Catholic missionaries in China
Austrian expatriates in China
Clergy from Linz
17th-century Austrian Jesuits
Austrian cartographers