Grace and Disgrace in the Kangxi Emperor’s Court: a Review of the Eulogium Europeorum doctorum of 1711

Abstract

Abstract This text focuses on the eulogium of the Europeorum doctorum, a significant tribute from the Imperial Board of Mathematics to the three generations of Jesuit missionaries who served the imperial court of China. The eulogium, produced in 1711, coincided with the imperial gift to the Jesuit’s “Portuguese Church” of three calligraphic compositions of religious inspiration commemorating the inauguration of the new church of the Portuguese mission in Beijing (Nantang 南堂). This event holds great importance in the context of Jesuit history and Chinese-European relations, and the presentation we now make of the Chinese version of the original eulogium allows a comparison with the already revealed Vatican Latin version, confirming this concession as a product of the “system of honors” similar to others that came in line as exceptional expressions of courtly favor toward the Jesuits living and working in the imperial court in the Kangxi Emperor’s reign.