François Xavier d'Entrecolles

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Jingdezhen porcelain dish, which was studied by Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles Plate with dragons Asian Art Museum SF B60P1122.JPG
Jingdezhen porcelain dish, which was studied by Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles

François Xavier d'Entrecolles (1664 in Lyon – 1741 in Beijing; Chinese name: 殷弘绪, Yin Hongxu) was a French Jesuit priest, who learned the Chinese technique of manufacturing porcelain through his investigations in China at Jingdezhen with the help of Chinese Catholic converts between 1712 and 1722, during the rule of the Kangxi Emperor. [1] His observations were published in a long letter in 1712, and carefully studied in several European countries, even though Meissen porcelain was already making hard-paste porcelain in Germany by then. The letter's author was given as Père d'Entrecolles ("Father d'Entrecolles"), and he is still very often referred to as this.

Lyon Prefecture and commune in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Lyon is the third-largest city and second-largest urban area of France. It is located in the country's east-central part at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, about 470 km (292 mi) south from Paris, 320 km (199 mi) north from Marseille and 56 km (35 mi) northeast from Saint-Étienne. Inhabitants of the city are called Lyonnais.

Beijing Municipality in Peoples Republic of China

Beijing, formerly romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China, the world's third most populous city proper, and most populous capital city. The city, located in northern China, is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of central government with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together the three divisions form the Jingjinji metropolitan region and the national capital region of China.

Porcelain ceramic material

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating materials, generally including kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 °C. The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures. Though definitions vary, porcelain can be divided into three main categories: hard-paste, soft-paste and bone china. The category that an object belongs to depends on the composition of the paste used to make the body of the porcelain object and the firing conditions.

Contents

Religious career

D'Entrecolles entered the Society of Jesus in 1682. [2] He arrived in China in 1698 to become a member of the Jesuit China missions. [3] Initially proselytizing in Jiangxi, he then became Superior General of the French Jesuits in China from 1706 to 1719. [2] [4]

Society of Jesus male religious congregation of the Catholic Church

The Society of Jesus is a scholarly religious congregation of the Catholic Church for men which originated in sixteenth-century Spain. The members are called Jesuits. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations. Jesuits work in education, intellectual research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also give retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social ministries, and promote ecumenical dialogue.

Jesuit China missions

The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a significant role in continuing the transmission of knowledge, science, and culture between China and the West, and influenced Christian culture in Chinese society today.

Jiangxi Province

Jiangxi is a province in the People's Republic of China, located in the southeast of the country. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into hillier areas in the south and east, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to the northwest.

D'Entrecolles was then Superior of the French Residence in Beijing from 1722 to 1732. [2] He died in Beijing in 1741.

Manufacture of porcelain

Section of the letter from d'Entrecolles, 1712, re-published by Jean-Baptiste du Halde in 1735. Lettre du pere Entrecolles 1712 du Halde 1735.jpg
Section of the letter from d'Entrecolles, 1712, re-published by Jean-Baptiste du Halde in 1735.

Independently of d'Entrecolles, but unknown to him, in 1710 the German Johann Friedrich Böttger (and possibly Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus before him in 1708) had already discovered the secret of hard-paste porcelain manufacture, which led to the establishment of the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory. D'Entrecolles used direct observation at the kilns, as well as the technical knowledge of some of his converts, and also directly consulted Chinese technical sources, thought to be the 1682 printing of the Fu-liang Hsien Chih. [2]

Johann Friedrich Böttger Saxon alchemist

Johann Friedrich Böttger was a German alchemist. He was born in Schleiz and died in Dresden, and is normally credited with being the first European to discover the secret of the creation of hard-paste porcelain in 1708, but it has also been claimed that English manufacturers or Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus produced porcelain first. Certainly, the Meissen factory, established 1710, was the first to produce porcelain in Europe in large quantities and since the recipe was kept a trade secret by Böttger for his company, experiments continued elsewhere throughout Europe.

Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus German mathematician

Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus was a German mathematician, physicist, physician, and philosopher. He introduced the Tschirnhaus transformation and is considered by some to have been the inventor of European porcelain, an invention long accredited to Johann Friedrich Böttger but others claim porcelain had been made by English manufacturers at an even earlier date.

Meissen porcelain First European hard-paste porcelain

Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first European hard-paste porcelain. It was developed starting in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's work and brought porcelain to the market. The production of porcelain at Meissen, near Dresden, started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers known throughout the world. Its signature logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the swords is one of the oldest trademarks in existence.

D'Entrecolles sent back to Father Orry, S.J., Procator of the Jesuit missions in China and the Indies, a detailed, very comprehensive and well-structured letter to communicate his findings: [2]

"From time to time I have stayed in Ching-tê-chên to administer to the spiritual necessities of my converts, and so I have interested myself in the manufacture of this beautiful porcelain, which is so highly prized, and is sent to all parts of the world. Nothing but my curiosity could ever have prompted me to such researches, but it appears to me that a minute description of all that concerns this kind of work might, somehow, be useful in Europe." Introduction of "The Letters of Père d'Entrecolles". [5]

Jingdezhen Prefecture-level city in Jiangxi, Peoples Republic of China

Jingdezhen is a prefecture-level city, previously a town, in northeastern Jiangxi province, China, with a total population of 1,554,000 (2007), bordering Anhui to the north. It is known as the "Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing pottery for 1,700 years. The city has a well-documented history that stretches back over 2,000 years.

French porcelain
Saint Cloud bowl soft porcelain with blue decorations under glaze 1700 1710.jpg

The letters were sent to Father Louis-François Orry, treasurer in Paris of the Jesuit missions to China and India, who soon had them published in the Jesuit missions' annual report Lettres édifiantes et curieuses de Chine par des missionnaires jésuites (1702–76). [6] They were again published by Jean-Baptiste Du Halde in 1735, with English editions appearing in 1736 or 1738. [2] The letters were later again published by Abbé Jean-Baptiste Grosier in his General Description of China. [4] D'Entrecolles also sent material specimens to Europe, which were analysed by Réaumur, and led to the establishment of the Sèvres Manufactory once equivalent materials were found in Europe. [4]

In England, his work encouraged the creation of various porcelain works, such as Plymouth porcelain.

D'Entrecolles left Jingdezhen for Beijing to take new responsibilities in 1723. [7]

He died in Beijing in 1741. [4]

Other works

D'Entrecolles also wrote letters about how the Chinese raised silkworms, and manufactured artificial flowers and synthetic pearls, and practised oral vaccination against smallpox. [2] In 1734 d'Entrecolles also discussed how the Chinese manufactured mercury. [3]

As a result of d'Entrecolles' work, which has sometimes been described as Industrial espionage By whom? Citations required, Chinese exports of porcelain soon shrank considerably, especially by the end of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. [8]

D'Entrecolles was also a translator of Chinese scientific works into French. [9]

Legacy

Following the publication by Father Orry, and later by Jean-Baptiste du Halde in his Description de l'Empire de la Chine (1735), d'Entrecolles' account was used verbatim with attribution in Diderot's Encyclopédie (1751–72). [10]

Josiah Wedgwood, the famous English porcelain manufacturer, is known to have copied extracts of d'Entrecolles' work in his Commonplace Book. [10] D'Entrecolles' work was also reproduced, without attribution, in Malachy Postlethwayt's widely influential Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce (1757–74). [10]

See also

1712 letter of d'Entrecolles about the Chinese manufacture of Porcelain, 1819 edition. Lettre du pere Entrecolles 1712.jpg
1712 letter of d'Entrecolles about the Chinese manufacture of Porcelain, 1819 edition.

Notes

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References