A French Jesuit in China

The Case of André Yverneau 1948-1951

Bibliographic Data

ID3319723
AuthorsTimothy Pickard Baycroft, Timothy Baycroft (East China Normal University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume15
Issue10
Pages1239
Publication date2024-10-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel15101239
OpenAlexW4403380101
LanguageEN
References cited26

During the many centuries of interaction and exchange between China and Europe, one of the most complex and ambiguous relationships was that of the Catholic Church and its missionaries in China. On one hand, they contributed to and can be seen as a part of the European imperial project of world colonisation, but on the other hand, they were instrumental in sharing and exchanging knowledge, as well as creating schools and other institutions in the places they created missions. At the same time, attempts were being made within the Catholic Church to promote the development of a Chinese clergy, although this issue remained divisive. This article examines these complex relationships through the eyes of a French Jesuit, André Yverneau, who was in China between 1948 and 1951 and who left a collection of letters back to his family describing these years. His experiences, observations, reactions and attitudes towards China and the mission are presented and analysed in order to re-evaluate some of the main debates surrounding the mission in China in the mid-twentieth century: education, language, indigenisation, and politics, both internal to the Catholic Church and with its relations in China

Archaeology · China · Political science · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Religious Tourism and Spaces · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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