John Tang, a foreign missionary, was able to take up an official position in the Qing Dynasty, and the empress dowager recognized him as the "righteous father" and the emperor honored him as "Marfa" (Manchu "grandfather"). What kind of divine was he that could make the supreme Emperor of the Qing Dynasty worship and respect him so much?
Brief European years
John Thomas, born in 1592 to a Catholic aristocratic family in Germany, was escorted to a Germanic academy in Italy at the age of 16. The educational purpose of this prestigious institution of the European Church is to cultivate the backbone of the church organizations and monasteries. John Tang officially joined the Society of Jesus on October 21, 1611, when he was not yet 20 years old. After that, he began the life of a trainee monk. Together with other monks, he went to the people to collect change, accumulated a small amount, used it to help the poor, went to the hospital to care for the sick, and went to the prison to do miracles for the prisoners. He also went on pilgrimage with several young monks, penniless, and traveled in all directions in a completely incarnate manner. These experiences not only made him understand the sufferings of the people, but also tempered his will. Later in life, the hard work and tenacity he showed had a lot to do with the tempering of this period. After graduation, he entered the Roman Academy for further study. While studying theology, he mastered a large number of advanced Western academic ideas and theories, laying a solid foundation for the spread of Catholicism in China.
In 1616, John Tang formally submitted an application to the Jesuits to go on a missionary trip to China. On October 4, 1618, after a difficult voyage of five and a half months, the Good Heart Jesus arrived in Goa, India. At this time, 14 of the 22 missionaries were killed by the god of death, leaving only John Tang and 8 others. After several months of recuperation, the survivors set off again in May 1619, taking different ships in the direction of the South China Sea. Two months later, they landed in Macau separately, and the long and arduous trip to Eurasia ended.
Build a cannon for Chongzhen
"History likes to make fun of people, likes to joke with people, and was going to go to this room, but instead went into another room." John Tang was such a person, he traveled thousands of miles to China to preach, however, the emperor of China appreciated his Western learning achievements more, he was also favored, and in the dissemination of Western learning, he spared no effort, and became an important figure in the process of learning from the West and the East.
The ancient Chinese people were very respectful of "the unity of heaven and man", especially the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, especially superstitious "celestial warning". Therefore, for the rulers of the feudal dynasty, the observation of the sky and the stars is no less important than any major event of the dynasty.
John Tang
At the end of 1629, the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty issued an edict to open a calendar bureau. In 1630, on the recommendation of The Rebbe Shangshu, who supervised the revision of the almanac, and Xu Guangqi, a famous great scientist, John Tang was able to participate in the revision of the calendar. During this period, he translated a large number of Western astronomical works, all of which were important contents of the new almanac, and thus he became one of the main contributors to the almanac. In 1641, compiled by Xu Guangqi, Tang Ruowang and many other Chinese and Western scholars for more than 10 years, the voluminous "Chongzhen Almanac" was completed, which is a huge work of 137 volumes. In this regard, Chongzhen was extremely excited, and he was even more serious about Tang Ruowang.
One day in 1642, John Tang received a visitor, and the two chatted speculatively, and the guests were very interested in the artillery, constantly asking about the specifications and styles of the artillery, the materials needed to make the cannon, the recipe for the gunpowder in the shell, and so on. John Tang was honest and enthusiastic, so he knew everything and said everything, and also introduced what he saw and heard in Europe and some books he read about this aspect. While he was gushing and his mouth was hanging, the guest suddenly got up, took out the holy will hidden in his body, and loudly proclaimed john's will.
It turned out that this person was a secret visiting official sent by Chongzhen. Chongzhen was in a state of emergency on the border of the Ming Dynasty many times, and in order to save the crisis, he wanted to appoint John Tang to forge artillery, but he was not sure whether he was competent, so he sent someone to secretly visit, and once it was determined that he was competent, he immediately sent a decree to order him to build cannons.
John Tang did not expect that he had unconsciously fallen into the trap, so he hurriedly explained that he had only read some books casually and had no practical experience at all. However, at this time, the visitor did not bother to talk to him more, leaving a sentence that "the subordinate officials can only obey the holy will, and there is no other way", and then left.
In this way, in the next two years, Tang Led the craftsmen to build 20 cannons and 500 small cannons that were light, easy to carry, and powerful enough for Chongzhen, and completed an authoritative work on the knowledge of fire attack, "Fire Attack Essentials" (also known as "ZeKelu").
However, history is always full of helplessness and sorrow, and the advanced Western learning spread by Tang Ruowang and the strong weapons he built ultimately failed to help Chongzhen save the Ming Dynasty. In 1644, Chongzhen hanged himself at Banzai Mountain. In this regard, John Tang felt very sorry, and his evaluation of Chongzhen, who wanted to be the lord of Zhongxing but became the king of the subjugated country, was: "The talent is very good, the fate is not good." ”
Qin Tianjian was the first Yang Supervisor
In 1644, the Ming and Qing dynasties. With his accurate celestial calendar, profound knowledge and writings, Tang John won the great favor of the Qing regent Dorgon, and in the name of the Shunzhi Emperor, he issued an edict to the Ministry of Rites in the name of the Shunzhi Emperor, appointing Tang John wang as the overseer of qin tianjian and in charge of the observatory. John Tang thus became the first foreign supervisor in Chinese history.
The "Western New Law Almanac" is an important work completed by Tang Ruowang in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, and on the basis of the "Chongzhen Almanac", he has simplified it and supplemented the three volumes of "Planning", "Calendar western transmission" and "New Law Calendar Introduction" written by himself, totaling 103 volumes.
In 1646, Tang John Wang, because of his reign in the Ming Dynasty, founded a new law and made meritorious contributions to the country dynasty, and was given the title of Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, Zheng Sipin; in 1651, Tang John Wang was given three titles in one day, namely Tonghui Dafu, Taibu Temple Qing, and Taichang Temple Qing, Zheng Sanpin; in 1653, he was given the title of "Tongxuan Teacher", doubling the title; in 1655, he was appointed as a general envoy and given Erpin to wear; in 1657, under Shunzhi, the South Hall (Xuanwumen Church), which was designed and presided over by Tang Ruowang himself, erected a monument and gave a plaque." Tongxuan Jiajing"; in 1658, John Tang was enthroned as a guanglu doctor and became an adviser to the emperor.
The fact that a blonde-haired and blue-eyed Western missionary was able to finally take up an official residence in the Qing Dynasty, which had a strict official rank system, was unique in Chinese history and was truly legendary.
Shunzhi's foreign "Marfa"
Since Shunzhi ascended the throne, the Qing court has always been gracious to John Tang, and after Shunzhi pro-government, Tang's treatment was unprecedented. Shunzhi had ordered that Tang be exempted from the etiquette to be observed in the upper court and when entering the palace; Tang could directly enter the emperor's residence without the eunuch's notification and summons; there was no need to perform three kneeling and nine prostrations when meeting the emperor; and when holding ceremonies at the imperial court or receiving foreign envoys, Tang could sit on a soft chair not far from the emperor. Even when accompanying Shunzhi to nanyuan for hunting, he would also make a special mink mattress for him to sit on.
In fact, John Tang was treated like this because of a special origin. Long before Shunzhi ascended the throne, Empress Xiaozhuangwen began to worry about her son's marriage, and she chose the daughter of her brother Wu Keshan. The woman was sent to the palace in advance to receive an education in court etiquette. After entering the palace, she once suddenly became seriously ill, and many treatments were ineffective. Xiaozhuang thought of the erudite John Tang and sent an internal official to ask him for medicine, without revealing the identity of the patient. Tang sincerely stated that he did not understand medical science and did not dare to treat her, but could only pray on her behalf, and presented a sacred tablet, instructing it to be hung on the neck of the patient, praying that God would bless her to heal. A miracle happened, and the next day, the illness was cured without medicine. This merit made by Tang was not insignificant, and in addition to giving him many rewards, Xiaozhuang also expressed his willingness to be his "righteous daughter". Since he was honored as the "righteous father" by the empress dowager, Shunzhi naturally became Tang's "righteous grandson", which is the reason why Shunzhi called him "Marfa".
Shunzhi always had great respect for John Tang and regarded him as his most trusted best friend and detractor. During the 10 years of Shunzhi's pro-government period, Tang presented more than 300 pieces of song and prayer, ranging from exhortations to admonitions to advice for the Qing court. For example, shunzhi was advised to gain his talents at any time and to check his own behavior; not to entrust government affairs to eunuchs to handle... Tang Ruowang and Shunzhi are like Wei Zheng and Tang Taizong, one of whom speaks is innocent and the other who hears is full of precepts.
Shunzhi regarded Tang Ruowang's songs as a kind of spiritual wealth, and would select a part of them to put around so that he could read them at any time, even when he went out hunting, he would also take them with him and take time to read. Shunzhi once lamented to his ministers: "Ru Cao only said that I am vain and vain, but Ruowang is not, and his music is kind, and he does not feel tears when he reads it." "Marfa is a man of greatness, and no one else loves me, but because of Lilu, he always asks for grace." He who is always commanded to beg for grace, he is only self-sufficient in favor of pampering, and this so-called one who does not love Lilu but loves his relatives. ”
The apologists were in trouble
Wood shows in the forest, and the wind will destroy it. The apologists led by Yang Guangxian believed that Tang Ruowang, a Western missionary, dressed in imperial clothes and freely entering and leaving the court, speaking bluntly to the emperor with impunity, and also single-handedly holding the Great Seal of qin tianjian and presiding over the revision of the calendar, was really unorthodox and intolerable. In order to put John Tang to death, Yang Guangxian and others continued to maliciously slander from various aspects such as calendar, religion, and politics, and wantonly slandered John Tang as a cultural aggressor and a subversive of the regime, and eventually led to the tragedy of Tang's later years.
Although Yang Guangxian could only rely on relatively shallow astronomical knowledge as an official, he had always been pretentious and ambitious, and even wanted to take the magpie's nest and replace Tang Ruowang. In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, a new calendar was promulgated, and the imperial court clearly proposed "according to the western new law", and Yang Guangxian expressed his opposition. However, the Ministry of Rites did not adopt its opinion when making a decision, and only decided to change the cover of the "Constitution of the Times", removing the words "according to the new western law" that the conservative faction regarded as a thorn in their eyes, and replacing it with "quasi-playing". Although Yang's first declaration of war on Tang ended in failure, he certainly would not give up. From 1659 onwards, he wrote a series of treatises that were strongly attacked from Western calendars to Catholic doctrine. He once said wildly: "It is better to make China have no good calendar than to make China have Westerners..." "The religion of the cross is a poisonous snake, and the demons deceive the people, and I will crush its head, and its head is John Tang." ”
John Tang handmade sundial Takumoto
In 1661, Shun died of illness, and the third son of the emperor Xuan Ye took the throne, and the four ministers of Soni, Suksaha, Shubilong, and Aobai were assisted. Among the four auxiliary ministers, although Ao bai ranked last, he took advantage of his many military achievements, Sony's old age and illness rarely paid attention to political affairs, and the lack of initiative in curbing Bilong's affairs, and vigorously cultivated party henchmen and installed cronies until he took over power. Ao Bai had always disliked Tang Ruowang and other missionaries, and he was very much in agreement with Yang Guangxian's political views, so he became Yang's grand backstage. With the protection of Ao Bai, Yang Shang was even more fearless when he sued Tang.
On July 26, the third year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1664), Yang Guangxian once again impeached Tang Ruowang with the Rebbe. He summed up four major "crimes" for Tang and others: great rebellion, spreading cults, various mistakes in the calendar, and the mistakes in the burial time of Prince Rong, and strongly demanded that Tang and others be "according to the law."
On the day that the Ministry of Rites received Yang Guang's first performance, it submitted it to the four auxiliary ministers. Ao Bai was overjoyed after seeing it, in fact, he had long wanted to eliminate Tang Ruowang and other missionaries, but Shunzhi did not dare to act rashly when he was alive, and now the opportunity finally came, taking advantage of the fact that the Kangxi Emperor was still young and he was in a big position, it was imperative to decide this matter.
Unjustly imprisoned
On the seventh day of August of the same year, John Tang and eight other defendants were escorted to the lobby of the Ministry of Rites and began to be interrogated. Sadly, the 72-year-old John Tang was seriously ill at this time, suffering from phlegm for a long time, paralyzed limbs, and unclear speech, which could only be spoken by the missionary Nan Huairen.
Yang Guangxian and others accused that the icons worn by the faithful and the gift sheets pasted on the door of each household were signs of conspiracy and rebellion; in the Macau area, tens of thousands of people gathered, ready to riot. Yang Guangxian also pointed out that the residence of missionaries in China is itself illegal, and since ancient times, have there been any people who have crossed the border without being dispatched by their own country and without the permission of other countries and going to the land of others to stir up trouble?
In response to these allegations, the investigators investigated, and the result was that missionaries from all over the country who came to China themselves submitted their own documents to the Chinese imperial court, and their entry was approved by the Chinese emperor. In addition, the case-handling personnel also went to Macao to check whether there were any signs of being a military stronghold and whether tens of thousands of people were gathered to go to the mainland to carry out subversion. As it turns out, these are pure nonsense. In the end, because no reliable evidence could be found, the crime of "great rebellion" could not be established, and it could only be solved.
With regard to the crime of "spreading cults," although John Tang and others tried their best to defend them, they still tried in vain. The reason is that, on the one hand, Yang Guangxian's public opinion denouncing Catholic book doctrines as demon books and heresies has long been widely disseminated; on the other hand, the judges have preconceived notions and agree with Yang Guangxian's views.
On November 11, after 56 days of detention of John Tang, the Ministry of Rites planned to dismiss him from his post and hand him over to the Ministry of Punishment. On the nineteenth day, John Tang was moved to the Prison of the Ministry of Punishment, and nine chains were tied to his neck, arms, and legs, and the chains around his neck were also tied to the pillars of the cell. This was too cruel for John Tang, who was old and half-dead.
On the 30th, the Ministry of Punishment proposed to be hanged on the grounds that John Tang was plotting against him. So far, the trial officials have still not tried the "various mistakes in the calendar" alleged by Yang Guangxian, in fact, they are deliberately avoiding it. They were well aware that the trial of the allegation necessarily involved field observations, which were inferior to those of Western missionaries, whether by Chinese or returning astronomers. It does not matter which kind of celestial prediction is more accurate, what is important is to close the case according to Aobai's will, not to make a difference.
In the case of John Tang, forced by the power of Ao Bai, most of the courtiers only listened to orders, but after all, there were still people who had not lost their conscience, and Gong Dingzi of the Punishment Department was such a person. He greatly admired Tang John's character and knowledge, and also knew that the charges imposed by Tang and others were purely "false", but he really did not have the ability to show snow for them, and the only thing he could do was to win an opportunity for them to predict celestial phenomena in order to get the result of a lenient sentence. Fortunately, Shangshu Niman of the Punishment Department was not a person who aided and abetted abuse, and with Gong's efforts, the missionaries in prison finally got a chance to speculate on the eclipse.
Due to Tang Ruowang's serious illness, the burden of speculating on the eclipse fell to Nan Huairen. Despite the very limited conditions in prison, which could only be observed through the prison window, he lived up to expectations and completed his prediction of a total eclipse on the first day of December. Astronomers of the General And hijri calendar also made predictions and believed that it was a partial solar eclipse. On the afternoon of the first day of the first year, nature made the most just ruling, and a total solar eclipse appeared.
The news of the victory of the Western Heavenly Calculation did not go away, and people sympathetic to John Tang instinctively hoped that the case would eventually be lighter. However, the development of the case did not go as expected, and the weight of science was insignificant in the political scale manipulated by Ao bai. John Tang's sentence was changed from the original hanging to beheading, and later from beheading to Ling Chi. At the same time, Tang's residence was sealed, and the provision to "establish an almanac with the new Western law" was also abolished.
In the fourth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1665), at the noon of the second noon of the first month of March, just as the auxiliary chancellor sent the inscription sentenced to death sentenced to Tang Ruowang and others to resist the previous approval, a major earthquake occurred in Beijing. According to the traditional view of interpreting disasters, the occurrence of earthquakes is a sign of rebellion by subordinates or female protagonists, but at that time, there was no female protagonist in charge, so it could only be attributed to the auxiliary minister. Public opinion believes that the earthquake is a warning from heaven and an angry and punishment for John Tang's capital punishment. Then, on the fifteenth day, a fire suddenly broke out in the palace, which was seen as a continued warning from heaven. The next day, under pressure from all sides, Ao Bai reluctantly issued a decision to "avoid death" for Tang Ruowang. On the fourth day of April, John Tang, who had been imprisoned for half a year and was dying, was carried out of the prison of the Punishment Department.
Rehabilitation
John Tang, who survived death, returned to the South Hall, where he was emaciated and physically and mentally exhausted. However, the persecution of him by Ao Bai, Yang Guangxian and others did not end. Only ten days after his release from prison, Rebbe Shangshu, with the acquiescence of Aobai, led the defenders to break into the South Hall and smash the statue of Jesus and the plaque of the imperial gift of "Teacher Tongxuan". On the first day of August of the same year, Ao bai ordered the expulsion of the missionaries. Four days later, except for Tang Ruowang, Nan Huairen, and a few others who still needed to stay in Beijing for trial because the lawsuit had not yet been settled, the rest of the missionaries in Beijing were all escorted to Guangdong. On the third day of October, Ao Bai ordered John Tang to move out of the South Church within two days. On the fifth day of the first year, the soup of the Western Mountains was carried to the East Church (St. Joseph's Church, located on present-day Wangfujing Street in Beijing). At the same time, Yang Guangxian, who had already been appointed as the superintendent of Qin Tian, moved into the South Hall with great vigor and grandeur, realizing his long-cherished wish of "attacking and eliminating heresies."
Under the care and companionship of Nan Huairen and others, Tang Ruowang, who was still in the wind and candles, spent the last years of his life in the East Hall. On August 15, 1666, a heart full of love and kindness stopped beating, and John Tang died at the age of 74. On October 13, Father Pan Guoguang wrote a letter to the President of the Society of Jesus, praising John Tang as "outstanding in science, especially brilliant in his intelligence and piety and diligence in divine affairs", "he endured resolutely in the midst of so much suffering, heroic and strong", and "amazingly impressive".
In 1667, the 14-year-old Kangxi took over the government. This majestic young Tianzi designed to arrest the dictatorial and wanton Ao bai and sentence him to lifelong confinement. Subsequently, in August of the eighth year of Kangxi (1669), Kangxi rehabilitated Tang Ruowang, restored his original official title, and re-awarded the title of "Tongwei Teacher" (formerly "Tongxuan Teacher", which was changed to avoid the Kangxi Emperor's imperial secrets), and "gave mercy according to Yi Yuan's original products and returned it to the Base of Jiantang (i.e., Nantang)".
In November of the same year, the Qing court held a solemn funeral for John Tang, who had been dead for 3 years, and Kangxi specially issued 524 taels of silver to build a tomb and personally wrote an altar text. On the day of the funeral, the emperor personally accompanied his imperial grandmother and the most senior officials of the dynasty to the tomb of John Tang to pay tribute to the deceased in accordance with Chinese customs.
Source: Magazine of All Walks of Life, Issue 1, 2021
Author: Hu Yijun