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Antoine Thomas (25 January 1644 – 29 June 1709) was a Jesuit priest from the
''Synopsis mathematica'', Douai, 1685.
*
Spanish Netherlands
Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the H ...
, and missionary and astronomer in Qing China. His Chinese name was 安多.
Early life
Born inNamur, Belgium
Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.
Na ...
in 1644, Thomas joined the Society of Jesus
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, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
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, founders ...
(the Jesuits) in 1660 and first taught in the schools of Armentières, Huy
Huy ( or ; nl, Hoei, ; wa, Hu) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the ''sillon industriel'', the former industrial ...
and Tournai. Equipped with a thorough training in Mathematics and Astronomy he was sent, at his own request, as missionary to China (1677). After a long and difficult sea journey - passing through Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
, Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
(Thailand), and Malacca - he reached Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
in 1682 just in time to observe an eclipse of the Sun (1683).
At the Chinese imperial court
Thomas was called by the aging FatherFerdinand Verbiest
Father Ferdinand Verbiest (9 October 1623 – 28 January 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in the County of Flanders (now part of Belgium). He is known as Nan Huairen () in C ...
, who had just found himself appointed 'vice-president of the Tribunal of Mathematics', (a very important and influential post in the Qing Empire of China), to join him in 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 ...
. After the death of Verbiest in 1688, Thomas took his place as the main mathematician and astronomical expert of China. For twenty years he was then a close adviser to the Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...
who, beyond scientific questions, consulted him also on moral and religious matters. In 1692, he obtained an 'edict of tolerance' that gave to the missionaries almost complete freedom to preach Christianity.
Chinese Rites controversy
At a time when the future of Christian faith seemed to be bright in China, theChinese Rites controversy
The Chinese Rites controversy () was a dispute among Roman Catholic missionaries over the religiosity of Confucianism and Chinese rituals during the 17th and 18th centuries. The debate discussed whether Chinese ritual practices of honoring fa ...
was raging in Europe. Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon (December 21, 1668 – June 10, 1710), also known as Carlo Tommaso, was a papal legate and cardinal to the East Indies and China.
Biography
Tournon was born of a noble Savoyard family at Turin on 21 Decembe ...
, a papal legate, arrived in Beijing in 1705 purportedly to inquire on the orthodoxy of the Chinese rites (particularly the ' Veneration of Ancestors' ritual, accepted by the Jesuits). In fact Tournon's mind was made up. By completely disregarding Chinese customs and etiquette, he offended the Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...
who had first received him well. No pleading of Antoine Thomas, then Superior of the Jesuits in China, could prevent Tournon from issuing a decree from Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
(1707) obliging the missionaries under severe penalties to abolish those rites. A last desperate attempt of Thomas, beseeching the legate to defer the implementation of the decree until further news was received from Rome, fell on deaf ears. Thomas died soon after in 1709 in Beijing, and was buried close to his friend and predecessor Ferdinand Verbiest in the Jesuits' Zhalan Cemetery
Zhalan Cemetery ( zh, 滕公栅栏; zh, p=ténggōng zhàlan) is a former Jesuit burial ground in Beijing. It was initially established in the late Ming Dynasty for the burial of Matteo Ricci. The current setup is a restoration using origin ...
in Beijing.
Main work
''Synopsis mathematica'', Douai, 1685.
*
See also
*List of Belgians
This is a list of notable Belgian people who either:
* are or were Belgian nationality law, Belgian citizens at least for sometime in their life,
* were born in Belgium or in the provinces of present-day Belgium, but who were not or are not Belgian ...
*Religion in China
The People's Republic of China is officially an atheist state, but the government formally recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism are recognised separately), and Islam. In the early 21st c ...
*Christianity in China
Christianity in China has been present since at least the 3rd century, and it has gained a significant amount of influence during the last 200 years.
While Christianity may have existed in China before the 3rd century, evidence of its exist ...
* Jesuit China missions
* Roman Catholicism in China
References
*Bontinck, F., ''La lutte autour de la liturgie chinoise au XVII et XVIIIème siècles'', Louvain, 1962. *Thomaz de Bossierre, Yves, ''Un Belge Mandarin à la cour de Chine'', Paris, 1977. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Antoine 1644 births 1709 deaths People from Namur (city) Jesuits of the Spanish Netherlands Jesuit missionaries in China Jesuit scientists Missionary linguists Astronomers of the Spanish Netherlands