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and other Jesuits who knew Fr. Jacquinot in China and his work for the poor. Too late! Fortunately, M. Ristaino’s research gives justice to the Jesuit who established such a successful safe zone in Shanghai in 1937, which was deservedly called the Jacquinot zone.
The first chapter is biographical: birth in 1878, the family, etc. Actually, in these pages you come to know quite a bit about the formation of a Jesuit, without any connection with China, for which Jacquinot had no particular inclination. Then, the second chapter, after four or five pages on Ricci and the famous rites controversy—not really necessary for the rest of the book—we follow Fr. Jacquinot in his first years in Shanghai, with his many assignments from 1913 onwards. We know how he lost an arm when he prepared fireworks in a chemistry laboratory. It is noticed that Catholic orders were rather rich and powerful in Shanghai, and because of that the targets of protest movements. But Fr. Jacquinot seems to have used all his connections in the service of those in need, saving children (1927), rescuing victims of floods (1931), etc.
To better understand the safe zone, Chapter 3 narrates the confused and painful situation of Shanghai and China when the Japanese attacked, once in 1932, and then in 1937. Aerial bombings inflicted immense damage and death in urban areas. It was at that time that Fr. Jacquinot put forward the concept of an international safe zone (Chapter 4), inspired by the “lieux de Genève” of G. Saint-Paul: districts or zones with exclusive humanitarian goals were to protect the non-combatants. Jacquinot was a pragmatic, says the author, able to accommodate Japanese demands if necessary, in order to protect the refugees. Ristaino gives ample description of the astonishing talent as a diplomat of the Jesuit. He was rewarded and praised by many, including Chiang Kai-shek, ambassadors and military commanders, and even the Japanese. Life in the Jacquinot zone is well described in Chapter 7, which reveals the capacities of the priest as an organizer and administrator as well.
In other cities, the Jacquinot zone was a source of inspiration. Unfortunately, in Nanjing, a safety zone was never approved, despite the courageous effort of J. Rabe; here the author recalls the Nanjing massacre. In Hankou, the safe zone was approved and effective; Fr. Jacquinot’s personal involvement and role was crucial for its success. For all these efforts, says the author, the zone in Shanghai was the model, but without the man behind it as a kind of guarantee, the Japanese would not give their consent. The fame of the Jesuit was high, to the point of stirring jealousy among diplomats. But nothing in the book insinuates that he boasted about his success. He was an independent mind, but surely not arrogant. His fruitful and somehow glorious travel in the USA for fundraising (Chapter 6) is another proof of it.
Why was he sent back to Paris in 1940? True, the zone was not so necessary anymore in Shanghai, and the war in China and the world had new features. All the same, the author seems to be unable to explain, let alone justify, the decision. In Europe, Jacquinot was not so well connected, and despite all his efforts, could not achieve what he did in China. He also had been away too long—27 years—to re-adapt easily to Europe, which he left before the First World War. He was not supported by most of his fellow Jesuits. He met, as the author says, disappointment and disillusionment. There was no safety zone in Paris! Nevertheless, he was also very much appreciated by many, as can be seen with the appointment in December 1945 as chief of the Vatican’s Delegation in Berlin for the aid of refugees and displaced persons. He died in September 1946.
Here and there, M.R. Ristaino inserts poems written by Jacquelinot. They are prayers which are the only windows to his spiritual life. The book does not want to be hagiographic; it is mainly about the safe zone. In this regard, it has succeeded in recalling a past event to give courage and inspiration today. Jacquinot is now a name cited in at least two official documents, reproduced in the Appendix. Should the man, Fr. Robert Jacquinot de Besange, be better known and his personality attract other researchers? Perhaps, it should if it helps others to engage themselves in the same mission of attending innocent peoples displaced or indiscriminate victims of wars under any form.
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Dominique Tyl, S.J., was a contributor to China News Analysis, Hong Kong, and later worked in China in various work units; he then taught at Fujen Catholic University, Taipei, where he was appointed Director of the Socio-Cultural Research Center, and Director of the Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation Studies. He is now a member of the Macau Ricci Institute. |
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| Issue 6.2 |
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Economy, Employment, Education, Ethics
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