Zhong Wen: Despite facing pressures from both inside and outside, Catholicism still reached its peak during the late Ming dynasty—spreading across thirteen provinces, with 150,000 believers. This accomplishment should not be underestimated.

Bo Ya: This was because the late Ming was an age of intellectual liberation. But at the same time, society was becoming increasingly fragmented, eventually leading to a dual demise—internal rebellion and external invasion.

Zhong Wen: In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the Atlantic nations of Western Europe launched a competition in maritime exploration, thereby opening new sea routes. This phenomenon arose not only from Europe’s inner motive for expansion, but was also the inevitable result of productive forces reaching a new stage. Portugal and Spain, located on the Iberian Peninsula, were at the forefront of this movement.

Bo Ya: Yes. The background behind the arrival of missionaries in China was the combined force of the Age of Discovery and the Protestant Reformation in Europe.

Zhong Wen: The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century began in Germany, with Martin Luther as its leader. After Luther’s reform, Protestantism took root in Germany. In Switzerland, the reform centered in Zurich and Geneva, with John Calvin’s movement in Geneva having the greatest impact.

In Northern Europe, the Reformation mainly took place in Denmark and Sweden, conducted directly under royal leadership and simultaneously with the German reform. Lutheran Protestantism formed the ideological basis of their change. Eventually, Protestantism was declared the state religion, and Roman Catholicism withdrew from Northern Europe.

During the Reformation, the Netherlands—under the banner of Protestantism and inspired by Calvinist doctrine—carried out a revolution. After decades of struggle, it achieved the first national revolution in world history, ending Catholic dominance in the region.

Apart from Lutheran and Calvinist traditions, England established a third branch of Protestantism when King Henry VIII issued the Act of Supremacy, declaring himself the supreme head of the Church of England and severing all ties with Rome.

The Protestant Reformation inflicted heavy losses on the Roman Catholic Church.

Supported by the Holy Roman Empire, the Church sought to recover its position through a series of Counter-Reformation measures—courting Catholic princes by granting them greater authority in religious affairs, and reforming the Church internally to restore its credibility.

In addition, Catholic religious orders and southwestern European Catholic nations hoped to expand Catholic influence through overseas evangelization. The alliance between Spain, Portugal, and the religious orders ultimately led to the spread of Catholicism in the East.

Bo Ya: The original intent behind Catholic missionary expansion into the East—led by missionaries—was to encircle and crush the Islamic world from behind. Spain and Portugal were far more zealous in spreading Catholicism than other Catholic countries, partly to compensate for losses in Europe, but also to undermine Islamic power, reclaim Christian territories seized by Arabs and Turks, and restore Christian glory. More importantly, missionary expansion aligned with European colonial needs after the Age of Discovery—religion became an essential tool of colonial rule. Thus wherever Spanish and Portuguese colonizers went, Catholicism followed.

Zhong Wen: “Pepper” and “souls” were considered the dual motives of Portuguese colonialism. While monopolizing the spice trade, the Portuguese were also passionate evangelizers. After reaching the Spice Islands, they faced hostility from Javanese Muslims, which threatened their maritime security. Their rule in Malacca also struggled to stabilize, encircled by Islamic powers. These circumstances intensified their desire to convert non-Muslim populations to Catholicism. Their missionary activity first began in parts of Java not yet Islamized. Ambon and the northern part of Halmahera offered favorable conditions, giving missionaries a foothold. But after nearly two years of effort, Jesuits realized the converts there were too ignorant and barbaric to become true Catholics, and so they withdrew to Malacca.

After Francis Xavier died in 1552 on Shangchuan Island off Guangdong, the missionary movement continued.

In 1554, diocesan priest Gregorio Gonçalves arrived at Shangchuan Island and built a straw-roof chapel. But once Portuguese ships departed, he and several Chinese converts were arrested by local officials.

In 1556, Dominican friar Gaspar da Cruz reached Guangzhou and stayed there for several weeks.

In 1577, Augustinian friars Martín and Rada came from Luzon to Fujian with two Spanish soldiers, staying four and a half months. Because government escorts accompanied them at all times, they could do little more than describe European religion during official receptions and had virtually no chance to evangelize the population.

It seemed inevitable that the third wave of Catholic diffusion in China would have to wait until Matteo Ricci entered the country.

Bo Ya: Why was Ricci able to succeed where others failed? This owed much to Michele Ruggieri and Alessandro Valignano. Ruggieri was the earliest advocate of the “accommodationist method,” and Valignano was the first missionary to establish long-term residence in China.

According to Xu Zongze’s A General History of Catholic Missions in China, by the time Ricci died, there were roughly 2,500 converts in the interior. The missionary regions included Zhaoqing, Shaozhou, Nanchang, Nanjing, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and others. Distinguished converts included Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, Yang Tingyun, Qu Taisu, Li Tianjing, Zhang Tao, Sun Yuanhua, Wang Zheng, Han Lin, Duan Gun, Qu Shiyi, Zhang Geng, and more.

Zhong Wen: One result of Catholicism’s rapid expansion under Ricci was the unexpected trouble that arose soon after his death—manifested in the “Nanjing Incident.”

In the 44th year of the Wanli reign (1616), six years after Ricci died, the Vice-Minister of Rites in Nanjing submitted two consecutive memorials accusing Jesuits Wang Fengsu and Diego Pantoja. Censors Yan Wenhui, Yu Maozi, and Xu Ruke, along with the Vice-Minister of Rites He Zongyan, joined the denunciation, calling for action to stop the spread of the “pernicious cult” and correct public opinion. Thus erupted the Nanjing Incident.

Bo Ya: Notably, that very year, the Later Jin state was established. In 1618, it captured Fushun, provoking war with the Ming. Emperor Wanli insisted on resisting, but the Ming army suffered a disastrous defeat at Sarhu. Thereafter the Ming adopted a defensive posture and could no longer attack. Wanli died in 1620, and just twenty-four years later, the dynasty collapsed.

Zhong Wen: The causes behind the Nanjing Incident were many, but the rapid spread of Catholicism and intrinsic differences between Chinese and Western culture were undoubtedly fundamental.

The emperor ordered the expulsion of missionaries, essentially declaring Catholicism illegal. The arrest and punishment of converts signaled the use of administrative force to halt its spread. More importantly, the Nanjing Incident inaugurated a wave of anti-Catholic criticism. Opponents attacked Catholicism on multiple fronts, establishing the themes of later anti-Christian polemics and exposing the deep incompatibility between Catholicism and Confucianism—nullifying Ricci’s dream of harmonizing and surpassing Confucianism.

Bo Ya: Ricci’s plan to adapt Catholicism to Confucianism—then transcend it—was always a unilateral fantasy.

Zhong Wen: After the Nanjing Incident, Wang Fengsu, Pantoja, and Pirez were expelled to Macau; other missionaries hid in Shanghai and Hangzhou, not daring to appear in public. Catholicism entered a period of decline.

Bo Ya: Yet this did not prevent Catholicism from spreading further, because the Ming dynasty’s worsening frontier crisis created new opportunities. In 1618, Nurhaci declared the Seven Grievances and openly rebelled against the Ming—his opponent being the physically disabled Wanli Emperor. As expected, in 1619, the Ming suffered a devastating defeat at Sarhu. The Later Jin became a major threat. To strengthen military defenses, Xu Guangqi and Li Zhizao purchased Western cannons from Macau and introduced European artillery technology.

Rejecting Christianity yet begging for cannons created by Christian civilization—this is fascinating! And it destined the “Ming foreign-affairs movement” for failure; the Qing repeated it, the Nationalists repeated it, and even the Communists repeated it.

Zhong Wen: To ensure cannon quality and fully master artillery technique, the Ming permitted missionaries to come to Beijing for service. In the third year of the Tianqi reign, seven Portuguese leaders, one translator, and sixteen Jesuits arrived in Beijing with them. Later, more missionaries came from Macau to serve in the Ministry of War. In addition, the calendar reform under Chongzhen offered missionaries further opportunity.

Bo Ya: The Ming’s last-minute desperation is truly tragic.

Zhong Wen: In the second year of Chongzhen, the emperor appointed Xu Guangqi to oversee calendar reform, and Xu invited Jesuits—Sabatini, Schall von Bell, Jacobo Rho, and others—into the Bureau of Astronomy. Using Western methods as reference, they completed the Chongzhen Almanac. Although the ban on Christianity remained in place, the missionaries’ entry into Beijing greatly facilitated Catholic expansion. As one imperial censor, Lu Zhaolong, wrote: “These missionaries now lecture boldly in the capital. Among the people of Beijing, nine out of ten households follow the heterodox doctrine; its influence spreads unchecked.”

The numbers speak even more vividly.

Bo Ya: Was this a desire for change—or a search for spiritual truth? Perhaps both.

Zhong Wen: By the ninth year of Chongzhen, 114 imperial clan members had become converts, 40 palace women, and more than 80 titled noblewomen. According to Xiao Ruose’s A Study of the Spread of Catholicism in China: “By the end of the Chongzhen reign, the faith had spread to thirteen provinces—only Yunnan and Guizhou had not yet been reached. There were 150,000–160,000 believers, including fourteen senior officials, ten jinshi degree-holders, eleven juren, and hundreds of licentiates and students.” Thus Catholicism reached its zenith in the Ming.

Bo Ya: Had they been able to organize a great missionary army, they might have become unstoppable.