Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Records of the Qing’s Grand
Secretariat – ‘Infiltration of Western
Culture in China’
Inscribed 1999
What are they
These archives relate to the activities of Western
priests in 17th-century China and are contained in the
Confidential Records of the Qing’s Grand Secretariat;
only twenty-four of the original records remain.
Why were they inscribed
They provide a detailed first-hand account of the infiltration
of Western culture in China through the activities of
Catholic Jesuit priests, and the resulting clash between
Western and Eastern culture that shaped relations between
China and the West.
Where are they
First Historical Archives of China, Beijing, China
These archives relate to the activities of Western Catholic
priests in China in the 17th century and form part of the
Confidential Records of the Qing’s Grand Secretariat. They
consist of memorials to the throne that were submitted by
government agencies and senior officials and were created
and maintained according to administrative security
regulations. They are written in Manchu, the official
language of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), and are in the
original form and style of ancient Chinese records.
The Catholic mission to China began when the Jesuit
priests, Matteo Ricci and Michele Ruggieri, travelled
to Gwangzhou in southern China in 1583. Ricci was allowed
to travel to Beijing in 1601 and had an audience with the
Ming Emperor Wanli. He remained in Beijing until his
death in 1610, having established a reputation as a scientist
and a man of literature. The Jesuit mission reached its
peak of influence in the middle of the 17th century; the
Confidential Records reveal the living conditions and
experiences of the Western priests at that time and support
the fact that Catholicism was popular not only among the
� The German Jesuit priest and astronomer Tang Ruowang
(Johann Adam Schall von Bell), whose activities played an
important role in this selection from the Confidential Records
of the Qing’s Grand Secretariat.
people, but that it also permeated high society and even
the Palace. It deeply influenced the history of the relations
between China and the West. The teaching and use
of developments in science and technology by the Western
priests made a great impact on 17th-century China.
Subsequently this golden age underwent a rapid decline,
which resulted in the ‘Case of Priest Tang Ruowang’
(Johann Adam Schall von Bell) which is transcribed in its
entirety in the Confidential Records. As a German Jesuit,
he arrived in China in 1619, where he lived for 40 years.
When the Qing dynasty began in 1640 he was appointed
Director of the Imperial Board of Astronomy by the Qing
emperor and worked in the palace for 20 years. He was
regularly promoted and was even appointed Director
of State Protocol and enjoyed a very high reputation
in China. However, the divergence of the two cultures
ultimately created a sharp conflict and the Confidential
Records provide original evidence for this dramatic
historical event. The ‘Case of Priest Tang Ruowang’
concerned the Western and Chinese astronomers’
divergent views on the details of the Chinese calendar.
Tang Ruowang suffered a great deal in his later years,
and was eventually sentenced to death, though he was
reprieved in 1665 and died in Beijing in the following
year. The infiltration of Western culture in China in the
17th century effectively ended after the death of another
prominent Jesuit astronomer priest, Ferdinand Verbiest,
in 1688.
Records of the Qing’s Grand Secretariat 239