Dominique Parrenin or Parennin () (1 September 1665, at le Russey, near

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

– 29 September 1741, 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 ...

) was a French Jesuit missionary to China.

Life

Parrenin entered the Jesuit order on 1 September 1685. In 1697, he was sent to China. When he was in

in 1698, he attracted the attention of 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 ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. His varied knowledge, and familiar use of the court languages, Chinese and Manchu, gained him the good will of the emperor. Parrenin used this favour in the interest of religion and science. While satisfying the curiosity of the Kangxi Emperor, especially about physics, medicine, and the

history of Europe The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first ea ...

, he argued that the scientific culture of the West was due to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Obliged to travel with the emperor, he visited Chinese Christians. Well liked by important personages at the court and the highest dignitaries of the Qing Empire, he led them to look with favour on the spreading of Christianity. In the ''Lettres édifiantes'', he has written on the admirable example set by the princes of the Sounou family, whose conversion, begun by Father Suarez, he completed. The

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, born Yinzhen, was the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He reigned from ...

, who succeeded the Kangxi Emperor, soon made known his aversion for Christianity, and only his consideration for the missionaries at Beijing, principally for Parrenin, protected Christianity in China. This emperor respected the missionaries, not for their scientific knowledge, but for their character and virtues. He demanded services of more tangible importance, notably at audiences granted to the ambassadors of Russia and Portugal during the long negotiations, both commercial and political, with the former of the two powers. The Chinese ministers needed the missionaries, not only as conscientious and trusty interpreters, but men capable of informing them on European matters and of inspiring confidence. Parrenin was assisted by his confrères, Anne-Marie de Mailla and

Antoine Gaubil Antoine Gaubil (b. at Gaillac, Tarn (department), Tarn, 14 July 1689; d. at Beijing, 24 July 1759) was French Jesuit missionary to China. Life He entered the Society of Jesus, 13 September 1704, was sent to China, where he arrived 26 June 1722. ...

. The mission at Beijing continued to exist among persecutions, and the toleration shown to it helped Christians in the provinces. He was caught up in the

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 fami ...

; but was misrepresented in the "Mémoires historiques du Cardinal de Tournon" and the "Anecdotes sur l'Etat de la Religion dans la Chine".

Works

Parrenin was involved in drawing up a major map of China. He aroused in the Kangxi Emperor a desire to see his entire domain represented by methods more exact than those of the Chinese cartographers. Parrenin had a hand in the preparations of the making of this map in the provinces of Pechili, Shan-tung, and Liao-tung. He also collaborated on a map of Beijing and its environs, which the emperor caused to be made in 1700. He translated into Manchu for the Kangxi Emperor several of the works published in the ''Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences'' at Paris. In 1723 Dortous de Mairan, of the ''

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at th ...

'', and Fréret, perpetual secretary of the ''

Académie des Inscriptions An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

'', sent him their "doubts" about the history, chronology, and astronomy of the Chinese. His answers led to other questions, and this scientific correspondence continued until 1740.

References

*Lettres édifiantes et curieuses. 26e Recueil. Préface et Lettre du P. Chalier (Paris, 1753); * Lettre du P. Antoine Gaubil on the death of P. Parrenin, MS. 12223 in the Bibliothèque Nationale, with the letters of Parrenin to Mairan and Fréret (1729–60), unedited; *Lettres de M. de Mairan au R. P. Parrenin, contenant diverses questions sur la Chine (Paris, 1759–70); *Brucker, ''Le mission de Chine de 1722 à 1735 in Revue des questions historiques'', XXIX, 491 (1881); *____, Correspondence scientifique du missionaire francais à Peking au XVIIIe Siécle in Revue du monde catholique. XXVI, 701, (1883); *

Augustin de Backer Augustin de Backer (18 July 1809 in Antwerp, Belgium – 1 December 1873 in Liège, Belgium) was a Belgian Jesuit and renowned bibliographer. Early years and Formation De Backer left his country to be educated at the Jesuit schools of France ...

Carlos Sommervogel Carlos Sommervogel (8 January 1834 – 4 March 1902) was a French Jesuit scholar. He was author of the monumental ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', which served as one of the major references for the editors of the Catholic Encyclope ...

, ''Bibliothèque des écrivains de la C. de J.'' VI, 284-290, IX, 757; *Cordier, Bibliotheca Sinica.

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrenin, Dominique 1665 births 1741 deaths 17th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries Jesuit missionaries in China 18th-century French Jesuits French expatriates in China