Annet Genestier
French missionary-botanist (1856–1937)
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Annet Genestier (16 April 1856 – 9 January 1937, Chinese: 任安守; pinyin: Rén Ān shǒu) was a French Catholic priest of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris and a botanist.
Annet Genestier | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 April 1856 Chambon-sur-Dolore, France |
| Died | 9 January 1937 (aged 80) |
| Burial place | Sacred Heart Church, Zhongding |
| Occupation | Catholic missionary of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris |
Biography
Genestier was born in Chambon-sur-Dolore. He was ordained a priest on 5 July 1885 in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Clermont. On 7 October 1885, he departed for his mission.[1]
Genestier came to Kangding in 1885.[2] He arrived in Gongshan, Yunnan, in 1888.[3] In 1896 he moved to Baihanluo, Yunnan.[4] There he founded the Bahang Catholic Church in 1898.[2] He also established a missionary post there in June 1899.[5]
In 1905, conflicts against Christianity broke out in Deqing, Yanjing, Zhongdian and Batang. In the same year, Genestier also wanted to build a church at Zhongding, Bingzhongluo, but he was opposed by the lamas at Puhua Temple (普化寺) and the locals.[6] After another religious riot broke out in 1905 in Baihanluo and destroyed the church, Genestier went into exile until the Qing government granted him the fourth-rank of the official hat button (四品頂戴) in 1907. Using the compensation from the Qing government, he then rebuilt the Catholic Church in Baihanluo in 1908.[2] In the same year, he also initiated the construction of the Sacred Heart Church, Zhongding.[4]
Genestier was a "missionary-botanist" according to Jane Kilpatrick in her Fathers of Botany: The discovery of Chinese plants by European missionaries. She indicated that Genestier was the travel companion of André Soulié in the Tibetan borderlands.[7] The botanist George Forrest mentioned Genestier in his "Journey on Upper Salwin, October-December, 1905" report.[8] According to Beolens et al., Genestier received Francis Kingdon-Ward in 1913.[9]
By 1924, Genestier had built five churches and formed a congregation of 978 locals.[3] On 25 June 1925, Genestier officiated the 25th anniversary of the founding of the first missionary post on the Nujiang River.[5]
Genestier died in 1937 and was buried at the Catholic Church in Zhongding.[10] His tomb was destroyed along with the church complex during the Cultural Revolution and rebuilt later.[11]
Legacy
A subspecies of the Rusty-capped fulvetta, Alcippe dubia genestieri, was named after Genestier. It is synonymous with Schoeniparus dubius genestieri.[9]
Genestier also published the following writings:[1]
- "Thibet : voyage au Loutse-Kiang". Les Missions catholiques (in French). Lyon. 1899. pp. 157–59.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - "Thibet : expédition en pays inconnu". Annales de la Société des Missions étrangères (in French). 1904. pp. 268–76.
- "La mission loutsé". Annales de la Société des Missions étrangères (in French). 1929. pp. 20–30.