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This abstract describes a Qing dynasty imperial ordinance issued on the fourth day of the third lunar month in the second year of the Jiaqing reign (1797 CE) by the Supervisor of the Yuehai Customs, a high-ranking official holding the rank of Court Gentleman of the Imperial Stud with Eight Additional Ranks and Ten Entries in the Official Merit Register. The document, bearing the circular red seal of the Yuehai Customs Office and marginalia numbered ‘593’ and ‘T313’, is a formal proclamation addressed to the Commissioner at Macau, local officials, household heads, and other concerned parties. It records the interception in Shaoguan of a four-compartment vessel from Fujian Province carrying the Portuguese Jesuit missionary Su Qiwen (also recorded as Sousa or Soza), alias Su Qi, alongside Chinese Catholic converts Liu Zhishen (Liu Hao-si), Li Licheng (Miguel Li), Li Mi’e, Li Renxiu (Pedro Li), Li Ruose (José Li), Chen Pu-jiao (Chen Wei-suo), Ni Gao-jun (Ni Fang-ji), and instructor Zhang Meng-zhi (Romatier). Seized items included Christian devotional objects inscribed in both Chinese characters and European script. The ordinance details their clandestine missionary activities—including Su Qiwen’s adoption of Chinese clerical attire and tonsure at Macau’s Sam Po Temple (São Paulo Church) and Jesuit residence—and condemns violations of imperial regulations prohibiting unauthorised foreign travel inland and unsanctioned religious proselytisation among Han Chinese subjects. It mandates strict surveillance of all foreign nationals entering Guangdong or Fujian provinces and prescribes disciplinary measures for non-compliance.
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This document comprises a series of translated ecclesiastical letters and administrative texts, primarily dating from the late 18th century, with supplementary material likely transcribed from earlier periods. Central to the collection is a 1799 letter from Pope Pius VI addressed to Friar Manuel de Santa Catarina, Archbishop of Goa, concerning jurisdictional disputes over the Island of Bombay. The text details the Holy See’s decision to grant temporary spiritual authority to Apostolic Vicars of the Mughal Empire following the expulsion of Portuguese ecclesiastical personnel by English authorities beginning in 1718. It affirms that the Archbishop of Goa retains full jurisdiction over Bombay in principle, but its exercise was suspended due to political impediments. The Pope justifies the delegation of pastoral care to vicars as a necessity for the spiritual survival of Catholics under non-Catholic rule, citing apostolic duty over institutional rivalry. The document further includes a corrupted or abbreviated transcription—possibly from a damaged colonial-era manuscript—referencing ecclesiastical appointments, synodal authority, fiscal obligations, and jurisdictional claims within a Portuguese colonial context. Names such as Gudricus Vovatus, Danceranus, and Athabasy appear in unclear administrative or hierarchical roles, while terms like “arm of the Conclave” and “fisc” suggest institutional governance. A translator’s note indicates significant linguistic irregularities, potentially arising from scribal abbreviation, hybrid Latin-Iberian legal forms, or textual corruption. This compilation offers critical insight into colonial ecclesiastical politics, papal diplomacy, and the interplay between imperial authority and Church jurisdiction in the Portuguese empire.
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