Michel Benoist

Michel Benoist (8 October 1715 – 23 October 1774), Chinese name Jiang Youren (蒋友仁), courtesy name Deyi (德翊), was a native of Dijon, France, and a Catholic missionary of the Society of Jesus. Originally an astronomer, skilled in mathematics and calendrical science, he was later appointed architect and landscape designer for the Yuanmingyuan. He died in Beijing at the age of 59.

Life

Benoist studied in Dijon in his early years, tutored in his studies by his father. In 1737 he graduated from the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris and was ordained deacon, and then went at once to the Jesuit novitiate at Nancy, where he concentrated on mathematics, astronomy and physics. A few years later he completed his studies early and was ordained a priest. He then applied persistently to go to China as a missionary and was finally granted permission. In 1744 (the 9th year of Qianlong) he arrived by ship at Macau. The following year he was summoned by the Qianlong Emperor to Beijing as a mathematician. In 1747 (the 12th year of Qianlong), on the recommendation of Giuseppe Castiglione (郎世宁), the Qianlong Emperor appointed him designer of the great fountain (大水法, the “Great Waterworks”) at the Yuanmingyuan. After the fountain was completed, the emperor thought very highly of him; he had several long conversations with him and asked him questions about astronomy and geography.

After the Qianlong Emperor had pacified the Dzungars and the Muslim regions (回部), he put Benoist in charge of making the Huangyu Quantu (皇舆全图, Complete Map of the Empire). With the help of He Guozong (何国宗), chief instructor of mathematics at the Guozijian (Imperial Academy), and others, Benoist supplemented the Kangxi-era Huangyu Quanlan Tu (皇舆全览图) and completed the Huangyu Quantu in 1760 (the 25th year of Qianlong). He afterwards had the map printed from 104 copper plates.

In 1773 (the 38th year of Qianlong) Benoist presented to the Qianlong Emperor the newly arrived missionaries Pan Tingzhang (潘廷璋, also written 潘廷章) and Li Junxian (李俊贤). He demonstrated to the emperor how to use the telescope, air pump and other instruments they had brought as tribute, and explained to him how the instruments worked.

On 23 October 1774 (the 18th day of the 9th month of the 39th year of Qianlong), Benoist died of a stroke. The Qianlong Emperor ordered “a grant of one hundred taels of silver from the imperial treasury toward his burial.”