An Encounter of Two Elite Groups: Jesuit Missionaries and Provincial Governors in the Post-Matteo Ricci Era (1610–1644)

This article examines the interactions between Jesuit missionaries and provincial governors in late Ming China during the post-Ricci era (1610–1644). Previous scholarship largely focused on Matteo Ricci and the converted literati, leaving the role of provincial governors insufficiently explored. Drawing on a systematic comparison of Chinese and Western sources, this study reconstructs, for the first time, the concrete relationships between four governors—Zhu Dadian, Cao Erzhen, Fang Kongzhao, and Liu Yikun—and Jesuit missionaries, thereby filling an important historiographical gap. The analysis shows that the Jesuits’ “top-down strategy”, initially focused on the literati, persisted after Ricci’s death in a more decentralized provincial form. In each case, gubernatorial support directly facilitated the establishment, protection, or expansion of local missions, demonstrating the decisive influence of provincial authority on missionary fortunes. Methodologically, this study employs close textual reading and cross-referencing of missionary reports, official records, and local sources. It concludes that the late-Ming Catholic mission relied on a multilayered protective network in which provincial governors constituted a crucial but previously underrecognized component. These findings call for more scholarly attention to provincial power-holders in the study of Christianity in late imperial China.