Michel Benoist

Michel Benoist (Chinese: 蔣友仁; pinyin: Jiǎng Yǒurén, 8 October 1715 in Dijon, France – 23 October 1774 in Beijing, China) was a Jesuit scientist who served for thirty years in the court of the Qianlong Emperor (1735 - 1796) during the Qing dynasty, known for his architectural and landscape designs of the Old Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan).

Along with Giuseppe Castiglione, Benoist served as one of two Jesuit advisors to the Qianlong Emperor, and transformed parts of the Old Summer Palace into what historian Mark Elliott calls an "imitation of Versailles or Fontainebleau.

Shortly after, he left for Paris to study mathematics, astronomy, and hydraulics under Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille and Louis Guillaume Le Monnier, two members of the French Academy of Sciences.

According to Jesuit scholar Jean Charbonnier, the imperial decree of 1724 was a drastic change for Catholic missionaries, enforcing draconian measures to limit the spread of Christianity.

[1] Over the course of thirty years, Michel Benoist served the Qianlong Emperor on a number of construction projects and as an advisor on European affairs.

[5][6] During the second year of his reign in 1737, the Qianlong Emperor commissioned Giuseppe Castiglione to construct multiple European-style pavilions (Xiyanglou) on the grounds of the Old Summer Palace.

His greatest achievement was the construction of a "water clock" in front of The Hall of Calm Seas, a building arguably based on the Court of Honor at Versailles.

His first cartography project was mapping out the territories of the Qing Empire and its borderlands, following up on previous work by Jesuits during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor.

Historian Mario Cams notes Benoist's maps visually incorporated distant territories such as Xinjiang into the boundaries and defined borderlands between Qing China, Mongolia, and Imperial Russia.

An 18th century engraving depicting the water clock designed by Benoist featuring the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac in front of The Hall of Calm Seas (Haiyantang). [ 2 ]
Ruins of the north facade of Xieqiqu, one of the pavilions to feature the fountains constructed by Michel Benoist. The photograph was taken in 1873 by German photographer Ernst Ohlmer. [ 15 ]