The Acta Pekinensia of the de Tournon Legation

Description

The visit to China of the Papal Legate, Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon (1705-1710), marked a decisive turning point, both for the Society of Jesus, and for the history of the Christian missions in China. The legate succeeded in imposing his negative views about Chinese rituals for ancestors and Confucius, thus consolidating the vilification that led to the Society’s suppression later in the century. The German Jesuit Kilian Stumpf was a privileged observer of these events principally in the Chinese capital, Beijing, and through his extensive correspondence in the rest of China. In addition to working for the Chinese Emperor Kangxi as director of the imperial glassworks, during the Legate’s visit, Stumpf was designated Jesuit procurator (negotiator) and papal notary, for which role he kept a daily record of events and documents destined for Rome: the Acta Pekinensia. Here, for the first time, this neglected text is provided in an annotated English translation, covering the initial phase of the Legation. The volume and accompanying CD-Rom (with images of the original manuscript) will be of interest to historians of the Catholic Church, sinologists and students of religion, as well as offering a lively story full of fascinating personalities and events.