Summary of the foundation of the country of one or more Zutendaal missionaries ...
Country summary with history, mission regions, where one or more Zutendaal missionaries were sent out to...
with underneath list of those zutendaal missionaries staying there
History, profile and mission of China
China is therefore more than three hundred times larger than Belgium, and in terms of area it is the 4th largest country in the world. It also has roughly 120 times as many inhabitants as Belgium, but its population density is lower because the country is so enormous (with large sparsely populated regions in the west).
Around 1865, China had roughly just under 400 million inhabitants (after a severe demographic dip during the Taiping years), compared to about 1.41 billion today. After a peak of around 430 million around 1850, the population declined due to the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), famines, and epidemics that claimed tens of millions of lives; in the 1860s–70s it stabilized again at around 370 million inhabitants.
China was never fully colonised in the way Congo or Indonesia were. What did exist were fortified colonial enclaves in Macau (Portuguese, 1557–1999) and Hong Kong (British, 1842–1997). In the 19th and early 20th centuries, following the Opium Wars, foreign powers also established treaty ports and spheres of influence, with concessions in cities such as Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangzhou. The Qing state remained in place, but its sovereignty was significantly weakened.
Earliest missionaries & motivations
Earliest presence:Nestorians (Church of the East) during the Tang dynasty (missionary Alopen, 635) – linked to trade and Silk Road networks.
Catholic (Middle Ages):John of Montecorvino (from 1294, Yuan/Mongol era) – established church structures in Khanbaliq (Beijing).
Jesuits (late Ming–Qing):Matteo Ricci (from 1582; reached Beijing in 1601) – used science/astronomy as a bridge for inculturation at the imperial court.
Protestant (modern era):Robert Morrison (1807, Canton/Macau) – first Protestant Bible translator; 19th century saw a broad expansion.
Motivations: Trade contacts, scholarly/scientific approaches to the imperial court, and—after the opening of the treaty ports—access for mission work, education, and healthcare.
How many people lived in China “back then”?
Tang dynasty (7th century): ~50–80 million (approximate, fluctuating estimates)
Late Ming (around 1600, Ricci’s time): ~150–160 million
Mid-19th century: ~400 million
(These are broad reference values; exact figures vary by source.)
Where were the first mission posts located?
Jesuits: Macau (base of operations), Zhaoqing/Guangzhou, Nanjing, Beijing (Astronomical Bureau).
19th-century Catholic missions: Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP), Lazarists, Franciscans, Dominicans—first in coastal cities, later deep into the interior (Sichuan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, etc.).
Protestant missions: Began in Canton/Macau/Shanghai; massive inland expansion through the China Inland Mission (Hudson Taylor, 1865), eventually active in nearly all provinces.
Development toward a “high point”
1600–1700: Jesuit flourishing (science, court influence), later hindered by the Chinese Rites Controversy.
19th century: Major expansion from coastal areas into the interior; founding of schools, hospitals, and universities.
c. 1900–1937: Peak in terms of missionaries and institutions; simultaneous tensions (e.g., Boxer Rebellion, 1900).
1949: Founding of the PRC; most foreign missionaries leave or are expelled.
From 1978 onward: Gradual reappearance of religion within state frameworks (Three-Self Patriotic Movement; Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association) alongside underground Christian networks.
Key emphases of missionary work
Education and healthcare (modern hospitals, schools, universities).
Language and translation (Bible in classical and vernacular Chinese; dictionaries; printing presses).
Inculturation (Jesuit approach) vs. later mass-mission methods (19th century).
Social work (orphanages, relief for the poor, education for women).
Poverty through the centuries
Imperial era: agrarian economy, demographic pressure, natural disasters and recurring cycles of scarcity.
Culture & language: classical Chinese vs. vernaculars; linguistic diversity; Confucianism and ancestor veneration.
Geography & health: vast distances, endemic diseases, and logistical challenges in the interior.
The Scheut Missionaries (CICM): the first Belgian congregation founded specifically for China
The Scheut Missionaries were the first Belgian missionary order with a congregation created explicitly for China. Their spirituality was “Ad Gentes”—to bring the Gospel to non-Christian regions. They founded schools, seminaries, printing presses, and hospitals. China was one of their principal missions until 1949; afterwards their work expanded worldwide.
The Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM / Scheut Missionaries) was founded in 1862 in Scheut (near Brussels) by Father Théophile Verbist, with the explicit goal of mission work in North China, particularly Inner Mongolia.
Some of the first missionaries leaving Belgium for China included Théophile Verbist (founder), Ferdinand Hamer, François Vranckx, A. De Vos, and others. They reached Beijing in late 1865, and settled in Inner Mongolia (the Ningxia–Shaanxi–Chahar region). Despite early progress, they encountered significant difficulties. In 1868, Father Verbist died of typhus in Laohukou (Shaanxi). The surviving Scheut missionaries continued the mission and expanded into Central and Northern China, Inner and Outer Mongolia, and later into Manchuria (the northeast).
Mission work carried heavy risks. Many Scheut missionaries were killed during the Boxer Uprising (1900)—among them Bishop Ferdinand Hamer, who was tortured and executed. Later civil wars and anti-foreign campaigns also posed serious dangers.
Further development
By 1900: hundreds of CICM missionaries were active in North China.
After 1949 (People’s Republic): all were expelled; some relocated to Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Congo, the United States, and elsewhere.
China nevertheless remained the historical core of their identity and missionary calling.
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List of Missionaries from Zutendaal working in China
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