page_title: 1905 Tibetan Rebellion
section_title: Attacks on French Catholic missionaries and converts
hierarchical_section_title: 1905 Tibetan Rebellion / Attacks on French Catholic missionaries and converts
caption_attribution_description: English: A Roman Catholic Church by the Lancang (Mekong) River at Cizhong (茨中), Yunnan Province, China. It was built by the French missionary at the end of 19th century, and subsequently incinarated, then rebuilt from 1907 to 1911. Since the region is very ethnically diverse, the church members include ethnic groups such as Han, Tibetans (Zang), Naxi, Lisu etc. (Here's more details) Français&#160;: Une église catholique le long du fleuve Lancang (Mékong) à Cizhong (茨中), Xian de Dêqên, province du Yunnan, Chine. Elle fut fondée par les missionnaires français de la Société des missions étrangères de Paris à la fin du XIXe siècle, fut incendiée, puis reconstruite de 1907 à 1911. Comme la région comporte des ethnies très diverses, les membres de la paroisse incluent des Hans, des Tibétains (Zang), des Naxis, des Lisus, etc... (Davantage de détails) 中文: 关于云南生德钦县茨中罗曼式建筑天主教学
context_page_description: The Tibetan rebellion of 1905 referred to a series of riots which the Tibetan lamas tortured and executed French Catholic missionaries, massacred Tibetan Catholic converts, assassinated officials of Qing China, attacked the riot-quelling Qing's army, and burned dozens of churches. This is one of the largest religious persecution in Tibet by the Tibetan lamas.
  In in 2 April 1905, the anti-catholic riot led by lamas massacred hundreds of Tibetan Catholic converts and burned churches. On 6 April, Fengquan, the Qing's resident commissioner in Tibet and a Manchu himself, was assassinated by the lamas in Batang, Sichuan. Lamas incited xenophobia by claiming him to be a fake commissioner sent by the French and also falsely accused him of promoting French language and military uniform. On 14 April and 16 April, four French missionaries Jean-André Soulié, Henri Mussot, Pierre-Marie Bourdonnec and Jules Dubernard were executed by lamas after two weeks of torturing, in Batang, Sichuan and Dêqên, Yunnan respectively. The Qing's army in Dêqên, whom the missionaries sought refuge to, were besieged by lamas for three months.
context_section_description: The British invasion of Lhasa in 1904 had repercussions in the Tibetan Buddhist world, causing extreme anti-western and anti-French Catholic sentiment among Tibetan Buddhists. The British invasion also triggered intense and sudden Qing intervention in Tibetan areas, to develop, assimilate, and bring the regions under strong Qing central control.
  The Tibetan Lamas in Batang proceeded to revolt in 1905, massacring Chinese officials, French missionaries, and Catholic converts. The Tibetan monks opposed the Catholics, razing the Catholic mission's Church, and slaughtering all Catholic missionaries and Qing officials. 
  Fengquan (鳳全/凤全), the Qing's resident commissioner in Tibet and a Manchu himself, was besieged and assassinated by the Tibetan Batang Lamas in 11 March 1905, along with other Manchu and Han Qing officials and the French Catholic priests, who were all massacred when the rebellion started in March 1905. Tibetan Gelugpa monks in Nyarong, Chamdo, and Litang also revolted and attacked missions and churches and slaughtered westerners. The British invasion of Lhasa, the missionaries, and the Qing were linked, in the eyes of the Tibetans, as hostile foreigners to be attacked. Zhongtian (Chungtien) was the location of the Batang monastery. The Tibetans slaughtered the converts and torched the building of the missionaries in Batang due to their xenophobia. Sir Francis Edward Younghusband wrote that At the same time, on the opposite side of Tibet they were still more actively aggressive, expelling the Roman Catholic missionaries from their long-established homes at Batang, massacring I many of their converts, and burning the mission-house. There was anti-French Catholic sentiment and xenophobia running rampant in Tibet.
  The French missions which were attacked were part of the Paris Foreign Mission Society (Société des missions évangéliques de Paris MEP) and started by Fr Charles Renou. Tibetan monasteries constantly menaced the missions until the time the missionaries were killed in the 1905 rebellion.
  The Lamas besieged Bat'ang, burning down the mission chapel, and killing two French missionaries, Henri Mussot and Jean-André Soulié. The Chinese Amban's Yamen was surrounded, and the Chinese General Wu Yi-chung was shot dead in the Yamen by the Lama's forces. The Chinese Amban Feng and Commandant-in-Chief Li Chia-jui managed to escape by scattering Rupees (money) behind them, which the Tibetans proceeded to try to pick up. The Ambans reached Commandant Lo's place, but the 100 Tibetan troops serving under the Amban, armed with modern weaponry, mutinied when news of the revolt reached them. The Tibetan Lamas and their Tibetan followers besieged Commandant Lo's palace, which also held local Catholic converts. In the palace, they killed all Catholic converts, both Chinese and Tibetan. At Yarragong and near the Yangtze the Tibetans murdered two Catholic French priests and in a gorge Feng Quan was murdered after he threw the rupees. The soldiers of the Qing at Batang were attacked by the Tibetans. The Manchu Fengquan was assassinated by the Tibetans with a gunshot to the head.
  George Forrest was residing at the Tzekou French Catholic Mission, which came under attack by the Tibetan Lamas. He fled through miles of mountains to flee the Tibetan Lamas who intended to "brutally" murder him. Along his escape route, he took refuge with Chinese soldiers, but his party was discovered when they passed by the Patang Lamasery; after the Tibetans heard of their presence, the Tibetans blew a "signal whistle" to alert everyone to their presence in the area. Around the Mekong river every Catholic priest was murdered by the Lamas; they mounted a Father Dubernard's head on the Atuntze Monastery's gate. Forrest was targeted by the Lamas, who pursued him until a Naxi "king" named Lee rescued him.
  On July 22, 1905, the Tibetan Lamas killed the French Catholic missionaries Père Pierre-Marie Bourdonnec and Père Jules Dubernard around the Mekong. A Chinese military mandarin informed Forrest on how exactly the Tibetans killed his friends. The Tibetans "
caption: The church of Cizhong
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