Antoine Thomas (25 January 1644 – 29 June 1709) was a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest from the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

, and missionary and astronomer in

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...

. His Chinese name was 安多.

Early life

Born in

Namur, Belgium Namur (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Namur Province, Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of W ...

in 1644, Thomas joined the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

(the Jesuits) in 1660 and first taught in the schools of Armentières, Huy and

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

. Equipped with a thorough training in Mathematics and Astronomy he was sent, at his own request, as a missionary to China (1677). After a long and difficult sea journey - passing through Goa, Siam (Thailand), and Malacca - he reached

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

in 1682 just in time to observe an eclipse of the Sun (1683).

At the Chinese imperial court

Thomas was called by the ageing Father Ferdinand Verbiest, who had just found himself appointed 'vice-president of the Tribunal of Mathematics', (a very important and influential post in the

Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

of China), to join him in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. After the death of Verbiest in 1688, Thomas took his place as the main mathematician and astronomical expert in China. For twenty years he was then a close adviser to the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

, who, beyond scientific questions, consulted him also on moral and religious matters. In 1692, he obtained an 'edict of tolerance' that gave the missionaries almost complete freedom to preach Christianity.

Chinese Rites controversy

At a time when the future of the Christian faith seemed bright in China, the Chinese Rites controversy was raging in Europe. Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon, a papal legate, arrived in Beijing in 1705 purportedly to inquire about 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

who had first received him well. No pleading from Antoine Thomas, then Superior of the Jesuits in China, could prevent Tournon from issuing a decree from

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

(1707) obliging the missionaries under severe penalties to abolish those rites. A last desperate attempt by 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 in Beijing.

Main work

''Synopsis mathematica'', Douai, 1685. *

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 from the Spanish Netherlands Jesuit missionaries in China Jesuit scientists Missionary linguists Astronomers from the Spanish Netherlands

Early life

At the Chinese imperial court

Chinese Rites controversy

Main work

See also

References