Louis Daniel Lecomte (1655–1728): A Jesuit Commentator on Chinese Politics

Abstract

Louis Daniel Lecomte was one of five Jesuits sent to China in 1685, the missionaries' role, however, was not just evangelical. The Académie Royale des Sciences had provided a questionnaire to complete concerning China's arts and sciences: a significant difference from previous foreign missions. The Nouveaux Mémoires sur l'état présent de la Chine first published in 1696 provided an initial report of those aspects the Academie had requested. Lecomte, however, did not confine himself to the questionnaire and provided observations which gave a very interesting insight into both China and France's social, political and economic situation at the end of the seventeenth century. Information gleaned from texts like Lecomte's may have enhanced China's pivotal role in the formation of the ‘esprit philosophique’. In this article the author has chosen to consider Lecomte's very telling comments on China's political system with particular reference to the philosophy of government and the monarchy.