Jean de Fontaney (1643–1710) was a French

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 ...

who led a mission to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1687.Mungello, p. 329 Jean de Fontaney had been a teacher of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

at the College Louis le Grand. He was asked by king

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

to set up a mission to China, following a request by Ferdinand Verbiest, in order to spread French and Catholic influence at the Chinese court with the pretext of transmitting scientific knowledge.Mungello, p. 329 Jean de Fontaney assembled a group of five other Jesuits to accompany him, all highly skilled in sciences, namely

Joachim Bouvet Joachim Bouvet (, courtesy name: 明远) (July 18, 1656, in Le Mans – June 28, 1730, in Peking) was a French Jesuit who worked in China, and the leading member of the Figurist movement. China Bouvet was born in Le Mans, France; he entered th ...

, Jean-François Gerbillon, Louis-Daniel Lecomte, Guy Tachard, and Claude de Visdelou. Guy Tachard remained in

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

where he was to have a major role, while Jean de Fontaney led the four remaining Fathers to China, where they arrived in February 1688. Upon their arrival 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 ...

they were received by 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 was favorably impressed by them and retained Jean-François Gerbillion and Joachim Bouvet at the court. Jean de Fontaney returned to Europe in 1702, where he became Rector of the

Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

in La Flèche until his death there in 1710.

Notes

References

*David E. Mungello ''Curious land: Jesuit accommodation and the origins of Sinology'', University of Hawaii Press, 1989, , {{DEFAULTSORT:Fontaney, Jean De 17th-century French Jesuits 1643 births 1710 deaths 18th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries Jesuit missionaries in China French missionaries in China

See also

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