In 1687, Carolus Maigrot, a priest from the Congregation of Paris Foreign Missions was named as Apostolic Delegate. On March 26, 1693, he sent a pastoral letter forbidding the China rites. The Jesuits who were in China, worried about the harm this would do to the China mission; sent Li Ming to France and Rome to defend them and to explain the reasons behind their stance. Since the religious orders and academia in Europe were fighting against the Jesuits, a theologian from University of Paris published a manifesto supporting Maigrot and against the Chinarites.
While the Jesuits tried gain understanding in Rome, they informed Emperor Kangxi about the disagreements on the Chinarites. Agreeing with the Jesuits, the Emperor made his stand clear on November 19, 1700: "Worshiping God, serving the Emperor and respecting parents and the elderly are the same universally. This is unchangeable.‘On November 20, 1704, Pope Clement XI agreed with the Congress of the Propagation of the Faith on the decision to for- bid Chinese Catholics from following the China Rites and sent Bishop Duo Luo (1667-1710) as a special envoy to China to execute the order. This caused the direct confrontation between Rome and the Chinese government.
Emperor Kang Xi was concerned about the missionaries‘ activities in China and the issue of their administration, so he decided to intervene in their regulation. On December 31, 1706, he issued the following order: All missionaries in China must obtain permission from the government, and all those who re- fused to do so would be expelled from China. Up until 1715, there were 48 missionaries who obtained such permission, amongwhich there were 29 Jesuits and nine Franciscans ? Kang Xitreated these missionaries very well: ‘ You have obtained per- mission from the government, the local officials know whereyou are coming from and the local people will be pleased to join the church.‘When Bishop Duo Luo heard about the order from Kang Xi, he issued another pastoral letter announcing the Pope"s deci- sion on the China Rites. On March 15, 1715, Pope Clement XI published the encyclical Ex Illa Dei, in which he indicated his support for Bishop Duo Luo and asked all the missionaries in China to pledge their obedience to him in front of the Apostolic delegates or Bishops. Kang Xi was irritated upon hearing of Pope Clement XI"s order and he decided to suppress the Church in China. In the order he issued, written in red ink, he declared:"This order is only to those Western mean fellows. How could they understand China"s great theory! Moreover, none of those Westerners know Chinese classics well and can express them- selves well in Chinese. Most of them are laughable. From now on, all those Westerners should not be allowed to preach in China because they only can cause trouble.‘From then on, the Roman Curia insisted on their stand for- bidding Catholics from participating in Chinese ceremonies. In1742, Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) issued a letter entitledFrom God"s Will to all the missionaries, asking them to comply with this decision; otherwise, they would be recalled to Europeand disciplined. This China Rite Controversy lasted right up to1942, when Matteo Ricci"s stand on the China Rites was finally reclaimed.
The China Rite Controversy was a major issue in the his- tory of the Chinese Catholic Church. It lasted so long and cov- ered many cultural areas that brought great harm to church af- fairs. Rome"s decision to forbid Chinese Catholics to participate in Chinese ceremonies was the direct cause of Kang Xi deciding to suppress the Church. Later Emperors, such as Yong Zheng, Qian Long, Jia Qing and Dao Guang, followed the same course. Although Rome continued to send missionaries to China, they were all considered illegal in China and had to remain under- ground.
The Catholic Church, having been suppressed in 1717 by Emperor Kang Xi, was finally allowed to reopen in 1858 by Em- peror Xian Feng under the barrels of foreign guns after a gap of138 years. Catholics readily use the term "century-long suppres- sion‘ to describe the situation.
