Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism

Xú Guāngqǐ (Wade–Giles: Hsü Kuang-ch'i; 徐光啓, 1562–1633) of Shanghai, and Lǐ Zhīzǎo (Wade–Giles: Li Chih-tsao; 李之藻, 1565 – November 1, 1630) and Yáng Tíngyún (Wade–Giles: Yang T'ing-yün; 楊廷筠, 1557–1627) both of Hangzhou, are known as the Three Great Pillars of Chinese Catholicism (聖教三柱石, literally the "Holy Religion's Three Pillar-Stones"). It is due to their combined efforts that Hangzhou and Shanghai became the centre of missionary activity in late Ming China. The three men shared an interest in Western science and mathematics, and it is probable that this was what first attracted them to the Jesuits responsible for their conversion.

This name is derived from a passage in Saint Paul’s letter to the Galatians (2:9):

The passage in Chinese is somewhat more obvious:

wherein it calls James, Peter and John the "pillars of the Church". The inevitable connection was then seen between the "pillars" of the early Church and the three men who helped to evangelize Ming China.

Yang Tingyun was born into a devout Buddhist family. At the age of 35 (1592), after taking the Imperial Examinations he assumed the post of Inspector. In 1600 he met Matteo Ricci, one of the founding fathers of missionary activity in China, but did not convert or receive Baptism at that time. He worked with Ricci and other Jesuit's to publish China's first global atlas, the Zhifang waiji. Later however, in 1611, Yang accompanied a fellow official Li Zhizao back to Hangzhou to arrange for his late father's funeral, and saw that Li had not only thrown out his home's Buddhist statues and imagery, but that he did not send for Buddhist priests to give the man his last rites. Instead, he had brought two Jesuit priests, Lazzaro Cattaneo and Nicolas Trigault, to do the job and a Chinese monk Zhōng Míngrén (鍾鳴仁) to explain the rite's significance to the gathered friends and relatives. One month later, impressed by Li's newfound piety, he abandoned his concubine, and was himself baptized, receiving the Christian name "Michael" (Mí'é'ěr 彌額爾).

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