Rougemont, Francois De

Rougemont, Francois De, a French Jesuit missionary, was born at Maestricht in 1624. In 1641 he joined the Jesuits, and, as was customary, was for a time employed in teaching, but at his urgent request was finally sent as a missionary to China with several of his brethren. They arrived in that country in 1659, and for some years Rougemont had charge of several churches and missionary stations in the province of Nankin. During the persecution of 1664 he was, with many others, carried in chains to Pekin, and thence to Canton, where he was for a long time held prisoner. But an edict of the emperor Kanghi gave him liberty in 1671, and he returned to his work of preaching and teaching. Rougemont died at Taitsang-tchow in 1676. His writings are, Historia Tartaro-sinica Nova (Louvain, 1673); this was written in the prison at Canton: — Abrege de la Doctrine Chretienne: — Questions sur les Moeurs du Siecle. The last two were written in Chinese, and have never been translated. See Sotwel, Bibl. Scriptor. Soc. Jesu.