Antoine Thomas

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For the twentieth-century linguist, see Antoine Thomas (linguist).

Antoine Thomas (25 January 1644 – 29 June 1709) was a Belgian Jesuit priest, missionary and astronomer in China.

Early life

Born in Namur (Belgium) in 1644, he joined the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1660 and first taught in the schools of Armentières, Huy and Tournai. Equipped with a thorough training in Mathematics and Astronomy he was sent, at his own request as missionary to China (1677). After a long and difficult sea journey - passing through Goa, Siam (Thailand) and Malacca - he reached Macau in 1682 just in time to observe an eclipse of the Sun (1683).

At the Chinese Imperial Court

He was called by the aging Father Ferdinand Verbiest, who had just found himself appointed 'Vice-President of the Tribunal of Mathematics', a very important and influential post in the Chinese empire, to join him in Peking. At the death of Verbiest (1688) Thomas took his place as the main mathematician and astronomical expert of China. For twenty years he was then a close adviser to the emperor Kangxi who, beyond scientific questions, consulted him also on moral and religious matters. In 1692 he obtained an 'edict of tolerance' that gave to the missionaries almost complete freedom to preach Christianity.

The Chinese Rites Controversy

At a time when the future of Christian faith seemed to be bright in China the Chinese Rites controversy was raging in Europe. Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon, a papal legate, arrived in Peking in 1705 purportedly to inquire on the orthodoxy of the Chinese rites (particularly the 'Veneration of Ancestors' ritual, accepted by the Jesuits). In fact Tournon's mind was made up. By disregarding completely Chinese customs and etiquette, he offended the emperor who had first received him well. No pleading of Antoine Thomas, then Superior of the Jesuits in China, could prevent Tournon from issuing a decree from Nanking (1707) obliging the missionaries under severe penalties to abolish those rites. A last desperate attempt of Thomas, beseeching the legate to defer the implementation of the decree till further news were received from Rome, fell on deaf ears. Antoine Thomas died soon after (1709 in Peking), and was buried close to his friend and predecessor Ferdinand Verbiest in the Jesuit cemetery of Peking.

Main work

Synopsis mathematica, Douai, 1685.

References

Bontinck, F., La lutte autour de la liturgie chinoise au XVII et XVIIIème siècles, Louvain, 1962.
Thomaz de Bossierre, Yves, Un Belge Mandarin à la cour de Chine, Paris, 1977.

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 76306275 LCCN: nr94020558 ISNI: 0000 0000 8155 8946 GND: 129804304 SUDOC: 137636350 BNF: cb10636254r

Persondata
Name	Thomas, Antoine
Alternative names
Short description	Jesuit priest, missionary, astronomer
Date of birth	25 January 1644
Place of birth	Namur
Date of death	29 June 1709
Place of death	Peking

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