Jesuit Mission in China

Timeline

1. 1583–1610Zhaoqing · GuangdongItalian Jesuit Matteo Ricci entered China via Macau, adopting a strategy of 'harmonizing with Confucianism'—wearing Confucian robes, learning Chinese, and citing the classics—to spread Catholicism among the literati and introduce world maps and scientific instruments, laying the foundation for the mission's cultural accommodation approach.
2. 1669–1670Beijing · North ChinaFerdinand Verbiest directed the Imperial Astronomical Bureau during the calendar controversy; Jesuits gained Emperor Kangxi's trust through astronomy and cannon-casting technology, the mission's court influence reached its peak, and churches such as Beijing's South Church were successively built.
3. 1700–1773Rome and Beijing · ChinaThe Chinese Rites controversy over whether ancestor veneration and Confucian worship were compatible with Catholicism lasted for decades; the Pope ultimately banned Chinese rites, Emperor Kangxi ordered a ban on Christianity, the mission declined from its height, until the global dissolution of the Jesuits in 1773.