Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism

Instead, he had brought two Jesuit priests, Lazzaro Cattaneo and Nicolas Trigault, to do the job and a Chinese monk Zhōng Míngrén (鍾鳴仁) to explain the rite's significance to the gathered friends and relatives.

[1][6] Of particular significance is Yang Tingyun's willingness to abandon status symbols such as his family's traditional beliefs and the concubine, for these were some of the main obstacles in the way of the Jesuit mission to China.

Several Chinese were impressed by Yang's conversion and followed his example, starting with the 30 members of his family and then moving on to his friends, in total convincing over 100 people to accept Christ.

His other notable contributions to Christianity in China include his funding of the missionaries in Hangzhou, granting them the use of his estate as their base of operations; using his influence and wealth to offer protection and shelter to Christian refugees during periods of anti-Christian unrest; and also the buying up of land at Tianshui Bridge (天水橋) and Dafangjing (大方井) to build the first church in Hangzhou and the Jesuit Cemetery.

[8] Li Zhizao was a Hangzhou official who held various posts around China, the most notable of which were in Nanjing and what is now called Puyang County in Henan Province.

He was known by the courtesy names of Wǒcún (我存) and Zhènzhī (振之), as well as by the pseudonym "The Man of Liangyan" (涼庵居士, alternative writings: 涼庵逸民, 涼庵子, or 涼叟).