Modes of Power: Time, Temporality, and Calendar Reform by Jesuit Missionaries in Late Imperial China
Date of Award
Spring 5-11-2013
Degree Type
Closed Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Advisor
Nick Wilding
Second Advisor
Denis Gainty
Abstract
This work explores the relationship between time, temporality, and power by utilizing interactions between Jesuit missionaries and the Ming and Qing governments of late imperial China as a case study. It outlines the complex relationship between knowledge of celestial mechanics, methods of measuring the passage of time, and the tightly controlled circumstances in which that knowledge was allowed to operate. Just as the Chinese courts exercised authority over time and the heavens, so too had the Catholic Church in Europe. So as messengers of God’s authority, the Jesuits identified the importance of astronomical and temporal authority in Chinese culture and sought to convey the supremacy of Christianity through their mastery of the stars and negotiate positions of power within both imperial governments.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/4075773
Recommended Citation
Blasingame, Ryan S., "Modes of Power: Time, Temporality, and Calendar Reform by Jesuit Missionaries in Late Imperial China." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2013.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/4075773