Joseph-Antoine Provana

Contents

Joseph-Antoine Provana (Chinese: 艾若瑟; pinyin: Ài Ruòsè, 17 October 1662 - 7 February 1720) was a Piedmontese Jesuit missionary to China during the era of the Kangxi Emperor and the Chinese Rites controversy. Provana converted and baptized Louis Fan, the first Chinese known to have traveled to Europe and returned to China. He served as an envoy to Pope Clement XI for the Kangxi emperor and arrived in Rome in 1719.[1] He died on his return journey to China, but his corpse was transported to Guangzhou and buried there.[2]

References

  1. 1.The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, Volume 5, American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1874
  2. 2.John Henry Gray, Walks in the City of Canton, De Souza & Company, 1875