BUGLIO, LUDOVICO. - Renowned Jesuit missionary and sinologist, b. at Mineo (Sicily) on 25 January 1606, d. at Beijing on 12 October 1682. Having entered the Order in 1622, he embarked in 1635 at Lisbon for the East, and reached Macao in 1637, whence he penetrated into the Chinese Empire, after two years given to the study of the language. He preached first in Jiangnan (1639), then founded new churches in Sichuan, and in 1642 he had the help of Fr. Gabriel de Magalhães. In the year 1643, Sichuan was invaded by the brigand Zhang Xianzhong, who wanted the two missionaries in his service for mathematical works, with the title of mandarins, but they narrowly escaped soon becoming victims of his bloodthirsty whims. When Xianzhong was killed by the Tatar troops, B. and Magalhães were taken to Beijing by the victors as prisoners of war (1648).
Fr. Johann Adam Schall, very influential at the court of the first Manchu emperor, managed to save their lives, but not to have them set free. The fact gave rise to bitter disputes among the missionaries and especially to a campaign of denunciations against Fr. Schall (on these incidents, cf. A. Vath, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, Cologne 1933, pp. 253-63). In 1651 the two fathers were freed and erected in Beijing a new church (Tong-tang), making it a center of Catholic life. The reconciliation among the missionaries came about only when the minority of the new emperor Kangxi gave the occasion for the attack against Fr. Schall by the Chinese and Muslim astronomers. B., who had replied to the libels of the accusers, was arrested together with the other fathers of Beijing (Schall, Verbiest and Magalhães) and with them condemned by the tribunal of the Lipu (1664). Public misfortunes prevented the execution of the sentence (of death for Fr. Schall, of exile for the others), and the fathers remained in Beijing, but only later (1669 and 1671), when Kangxi personally took over the government, did they regain full freedom for the apostolate and public worship. B. was thus able to spend their last years in peace in Beijing. He also became known for having taught the Chinese painters the rules of European perspective. The emperor wished his funeral to be carried out solemnly, as we know from an account by Fr. Filippo Grimaldi.
B. made an outstanding contribution to the development of Chinese Christian literature. His works include translations to make possible the introduction of a liturgy in the Chinese language (already granted by Paul V in 1615, but not put into effect; requested again from Rome several times afterward, but without success): Missale romanum auctoritate Pauli V Pont. Max. sinice redditum (Beijing 1670); Breviarium romanum sinice redditum (ibid. 1674, incomplete); Manuale ad sacramenta ministranda iuxta ritum S. Rom. Ecc. sinice redditum (ibid. 1675). His translations of the little office of the Virgin and of the office of the dead had still several reprints at Touseve and at Beijing in the 1800s and the 1900s. His masterwork, the translation of a large part of the Summa theologica of St. Thomas (30 vols., plus 4 of indexes, Beijing 1654-79), was reprinted at Beijing in 1930.
Bibliography9 works
Edmondo Lamalle