Paul Xu Guangqi The First Catholic in Shanghai The Role of Lay People in Chinese Cathol

1. Paul Xu Guangqi The First Catholic in Shanghai The Role of Lay People in Chinese Catholic Church • 1, The different Portraits • 2, as one of the First Catholics

2. in the most busy street in Downtown Xujiahui area, Shanghai

3. There is a memorial park

4. 90 years ago, it was like this

5. Stamps of Paul Xu Guangqi (1562-1633)

6. Different Portraits of Paul Xu Guangqi in Chinese Memory

7. A Forerunner in science: a famous scientist, agronomist and a representative of science school in the pragmatic trend • Wrote and translated many books in various subjects including agriculture mathematics, hydraulics, astronomy, trigonometry and geography etc, for example • 1, Euclid Elements, dictated by Matteo Ricci, with other two books Principle of Measurement,On Difference of Measurement, which compares the Western method of angular measurement to the ancient Chinese work Jiuzhang, and A Treatise on right-angle triangles “GouGUYI • 2, Methods of Water Management from the Far West, “Taixi shuifa” ,dictated by Fr Sabatino de Ursis (1575－1620) a treatise on Western hydraulics to improve the method and instruments of irrigation. • 3, Complete Treatise on Agriculture, an Agriculture Encyclopedia,one of four greatest books on agriculture in China, agricultural technology\corps planting skills\agriculture policy • 4,Chongzhen Almanac, is one of the most important books about the European astronomy in ancient China, with 137 volumes , great thinker, compassionate politician, military strategist, scientist

8. Needham Puzzle---”scientific complex” • “why the Industrial Revolution did not originate in China” raised by Joseph Needham’s（1900-1995）Science and civilisation in China. • This kind of “Scientific complex” invoked in many Chinese an admiration to Paul Xu. • The Chinese, even scholars, ignored his Catholic background, or even criticize the missionaries for having intentionally fooled Xu by introducing Tycho Brahe’s (1546-1601, Danish astronomist) system, which followed the Ptolemaic model, instead of the more advanced Copernicus heliocentricism, because of the poor medieval Christian mentality. -------He Zhaowu

9. Dichotomy: Confucian/ Catholic • Science and technology was the way to attract Chinese intelligentsia into entering the Catholic church. However, they were Confucians in their heart. • Jacques Gernet : Chine et christianisme: Action et reaction, Paris, 1982. • Catholicism had been understood and interpreted in Confucian way. Chinese Confucians used the Catholic teaching to renew the Chinese tradition and culture, namely, “to complement Confucianism (buru) and replace Buddhism (tifo). ” • Paul Xu Guangqi was struck first of all by the Western Science and technology: “it is shameful to a Confucian to have even one thing unknown ”.

10. A Committed Catholic • Xu Converted to Catholic church first, finally committed to the Western Learning. • Background for Xu’s conversion : Personal/family incidents Cultural transition/social Crisis/cultural exchange etc. Cultural transition: 1, Confucians had borrowed too much from Buddhism during the period of late Ming Dynasty, Tian Xue (learning of God or heaven) would be the “complement to Confucianism and substitution of Buddhism” 2, resurgence of the Han school of learning, debasing the Neo-Confucian schools of Song-Ming

11. Multi-faceted symbolic • Xu is not only a person introducing Western learning, but also a pioneer for the new school of Confucian Classical Studies (jingxue) who “initiated a renaissance in Scholarship for Chinese Academics” part of the emergence of modernity, with his Jesuits’ friends. • From a Forerunner in science---Catholic Confucian--to a devout Catholic, these portraits show the evolution of the Chinese history awareness.

12. II,The first catholic in Shanghai and his role for the Chinese Catholic church

13. Three Pillars of the Chinese Catholic Church • Paul Xu Guangqi Leo Li ZhizaoMichaelYang Tingyun

14. Matteo Ricci and Paul Xu

15. A Great missionary----The Opening of the Shanghai Catholic Diocese • 1603 baptized by Fr. Jean De Rocha, • 1608 Lazzaro Cattaneo(1560-1640) came to Shanghai, baptized over 200 households of Xu Guangqi • Many important officials and intellegentsia : Sun Yunhua, Hanyun and Han Sheng, 120 was baptized in 1623 through him, some of who became the first Catholic in their local places.

16. The first great Chinese Catholic apologist Nanjing Persecution (1616-1617) Bianxue Zhangshu 1617, assured emperor that missionary were good and respectable with good reputation, and suggested three ways to validate it Jiren Shipian , Shike and many other books coordinated to with missionaries --open house to be the shelter for the persecuted missionaries. Introducing missionaries such as Jacobus Rho; Nicolaus Longobardi ; Johann Schreck，Johann Adam Schall von Bell into the imperial court as the Imperial Board of Astronomy (Qintianjian),

17. a Spiritual man • 1, daily prayer and spiritual exercise, twice to Macao to study theology • 2, high moral standard: one wife, no corruption, compassionate for the people, simple life, bringing up the children in Catholic way. • 3, Strong responsibility to evangelization two cases in defense against attacks from Manchu

18. Influcence in Chinese mordern history • 1, Grand-daugther, Candida (1607-1680) founded thirty churches, two congregations of women catechists and also orphanages, her son Basil great benefactor • 2, another great----grand-daughter Ni Guizhen(倪桂珍), mother of the three sisters of the Song family, who are very famous in modern Chinese history, one was the wife of president of Sun Yat-Sen, the younger was the wife of Chiang Kai-Shek • 3, Xujiahui, was once the ancestral home of Xu Guangqi and his family, was donated by Xu’s family to Catholic church.