What eventually put the brakes on Jesuit and Christian influence in China was a bitter controversy within the Catholic Church. The Jesuit missionaries contended that the Chinese public rites and the so-called ancestor worship were only civil in nature and not religious, while the missionaries of other orders insisted they were religious in nature and therefore Catholics should not take part in them.

During Qianlong’s reign China expanded much in area, so it was important to prepare a new map of Chinese territory. Engaged in this long arduous work were two Jesuits Feli de Rocha and Jose d’Espinha. Fr, Michel Benoist was asked to address several technical problems and to construct a three dimensional map of the world. There were also other Jesuits such as Kilian Stupf, Ignace Kopler, and August von Hallerstein serving at the palace as experts in astronomy, the calendar, mechanics and music.

While throughout other parts of China Christians were suffering bitter persecution, the fact that this small band of Jesuits remained close to the emperor as scholars and artists not only met with criticism and opposition from other religious groups in China, it got them under fire in Rome.

Why were the Jesuits willing to remain as scholars and artists at the Court knowing they were opening themselves to disgrace and insults for appearing to be pawns of the anti-Christian heathen Emperor? It was because they still harbored the hope that the day would come when they could soften his stand, revoke the ban on Christianity and put an end to the persecution. They firmly pledged themselves to give themselves entirely to this goal. Though this collaboration lasted for about 30 years, it never achieved the hoped for outcome, but got the Jesuit into a lot of trouble.

Already reprimanded for their repudiated stand on the nature of Chinese rites, they found themselves accused of being insensitive to the plight of other missionaries and Christians outside Beijing, some even blaming them for the persecution. Added to this Jesuits were also coming under heavy fire in Rome for the respectful way they were treating minority tribes in other countries (such as in the reductions in South America as depicted in the movie Mission). Finally in July 1773 Pope Clement XIV yielding to political pressure from several European governments who also had quarrels with the Jesuits formally dissolved and disbanded the Society. And so the first period of Jesuit activity in China came to an inglorious end.

All in all, in the span of 190 years from the end of the Ming Dynasty and on into the Ching Dynasty a total of 472 Jesuits served in China.

With the departure of the Jesuits, their works in Beijing as well as their missions throughout China in the Jiang Su and An Hui Regions were continued by the Lazarists (also known as the Congregation of the Mission or Vincentians). From 1787 to 1840 the church in the Jiangnan Region was in the charge of several Chinese priests. Not only did they and their Catholics hold on to their faith, they wrote petitions to the Pope and to the Society of Jesus (which had been reinstated in 1814 by Pope Pius VII) to send missionaries to China.

On July 11, 1842 three French Jesuits, Claude Gotteland, Benjamin Bruyere and Francois Esteve arrived in Shanghai. In 1843 the Bishop L. Beri asked them to establish a seminary which began with 22 seminarians. In 1844 five Jesuits and in 1846 13 more arrived in China. By 1848 there were altogether 37 Jesuits in China. Shanghai became the post-suppression center for Jesuit apostolate in China.

It is not possible to mention here everything the Jesuits missionaries did in the 100 years before they were expelled once again, this time by the Communist Revolution. Only some of the main events will be reported here.

From 1870 to the twentieth century the Jesuits continued the study of astronomy and the calendar, built an observatory and weather station, drew maps, researched and catalogued animals, plants, and antiquities, edited dictionaries, opened schools, and made Zikawei in Shanghai a center for the study of Sinology.