Friday, August 1, 2025

It is the 1st of August 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Friday to you and a first day of a new month- a few connected shows, coincidental in a way but based on the calendar and the stories I pick. Yesterday was Ignatius of Loyola- founder of the Jesuits that changed the face of the church in the far East- tomorrow’s weekend edition follows a 20th-century Japanese saint in a thrilling story surrounding the Second World War, and today we are in the far East, China this time to take a look at one of the more remarkable Chinese converts in the Early Modern Period.

Well, we call it the Early Modern Period in the West- 1400s to 1700s… in China, the time is marked by dynasties- and it was in 1644 that the long-reigning Ming Dynasty (from 1368) gave way to the Qing Dynasty that would last until 1912.  

And so, the fascinating Wu Li, born in 1632, is going to straddle two kingdoms- just as he will also stand atop many Chinese arts and then attempt to straddle Chinese identity and a newfound Christian faith.

Wu Li was born in 1632 in Eastern China, Changshu, on the Yangtze and near the East China Sea. His father worked in grain taxation and afforded the young Wu Li an early education in painting and poetry. His water would die when he was 11, but he would continue on with the help of mentors- some of whom happened to be versed in the Orthodox style of the old Chinese masters.

Wu Li was such a talent that he would be considered one of the 6 Masters of the Early Qing period, known for his idealized landscapes and his meticulous yet restrained brush work. He would become known for his poetry as well and would ascend to a position as a court painter. But a few things happened here in his rise to fame and transition from Ming to Qing- there was a spiritual void for many, including Wu Li, and they sought something beyond the traditional eastern religions passed down to them.  

Secondly, his hometown of Changshu became a center of Jesuit activity. The followers of Ignatius of Loyola knew that to evangelize China, they needed to enter their culture on their terms. Sure, bring them western arts and sciences, but don’t play “western savior”.

 

Among these Westerners was François de Rougemont, who worked out of Changshu and soon engaged Wu Li with both painting and poetry. Stuck between Buddhism and Christianity, the final shoe dropped for Wu Li in 1680 with the death of both his mother and wife. Unable to find solace in the teachings of Buddha or Confucius, he followed de Rougemont to the church and, in 1681, was baptized. He asked if he could train for the ministry, but at 50 years old, the Jesuits were hesitant. He couldn’t be sent back to Europe for training as he had no Latin, and so instead he studied at St. Paul’s seminary in Macau (one of his most important texts there, translated in Chinese, was the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola!). X After seven grueling years, he had shown himself fit for ministry, such that it was on this, the 1st of August in 1688, that the famous poet and painter turned Christian convert was ordained and took the name “Simon Xavier”.

He would continue as an artist and would not, however, abandon his Chinese style for a Western one. His poetry would change in content- his poems about Jesus and the Trinity, among others, have been published. He wrote “sacred” poetry, but his painting remained in the old style, and he still signed it with his earlier name- suggesting an important connection with his old life, but as a new man.

As the Qing dynasty would begin to crack down on foreign missionaries (and Christians in general if they were seen as upsetting the peace), Wu Li would spend the last 30 years of his life as an itinerant preacher, often disguising himself amongst fishermen and other workers to find audiences that might want to hear about Jesus. One of his followers collected a number of his sermons- the first to be collected and published in China. One of Rougemont and the Jesuits great concerns (at their best) was to raise up indigenous leaders for an indigenous church- and there were few more significant than one of the great artists of the age- straddling two dynasties- and blending sacred and secular art- Wu Li died in 1718, born in 1632 he was 86 years old.

  

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and from Psalm 107:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—

    those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

those he gathered from the lands,

    from east and west, from north and south.

Some wandered in desert wastelands,

    finding no way to a city where they could settle.

They were hungry and thirsty,

    and their lives ebbed away.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

    and he delivered them from their distress.

He led them by a straight way

    to a city where they could settle.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

for he satisfies the thirsty

    and fills the hungry with good things.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 1st of August 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who wonders why he didn’t get a new name when he was ordained- he would have chosen “Preacher McBaptism, esq…” he is otherwise Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who spent more time reading about orthodox Chinese painting styles this week than he ever has… fascination stuff… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.