Legate Tournon And Clash Of Contract

Acta Pekinensia is a precious historical record about the events of legate in China during the period of Chinese Rites Controversy.The manuscripts were written in Latin,which were sent to Roma from Beijing and the writer is Kilian Stumf.S.J.In 2015,The English translation of first volume of the manuscripts was published by Macao Ricci Institute,which attracted the attention of history field.And this study is mainly based on the English translation.In 1705,on the orders of Pope Clement XI,Tournon came to China to resolve the rites controversy of China.Jesuits assisted him went to Beijing,but there were many frictions happend in Beijing.In March 1706,Tournon set up a Universal Inquisition to investigate a contractual scandal involving Jesuits and the son of the governor,Guo Zhaozhen.Despite Jesuits insisted that the contract was signed legally and reasonably,Tournon and Universal Inquisition have imposed harsh penalties such as dismissal.Jesuits firmly believed that the investigation of the contract was intended to strike down Jesuits.After many unsuccessful attempts at reconciliation,Jesuits ignored the sentence and insisted on refunding the debt to Guo Zhaozhen.The action triggered further clashes with Tournon,which ended the contract for more than four months.The incident intensified the friction between Tournon and Jesuits and caused a great disturbance during the visit of Tournon in Beijing.Jesuits fell out of favor during the clash,but people involved in the investigation ended up unhappy with the objection of Chinese Rites and other reasons.The clash is not only a microcosm of a conflict between the legate and Jesuits,behind the highlight is the battle about Far East Patronage between Curia and Portugal,as well as the conflict in the culture between Catholic world and Chinese society.