Fan Shouyi

Louis Fan (13 June 1682 – 28 February 1753 ), born Fan Shouyi and also known as Luigi Fan, was the first known Chinese person to travel to Europe, return to China, and write an account of his travels. However, in traveling to Europe, he was preceded by Michael Shen Fu-Tsung, Arcadio Huang, and Rabban Bar Sauma, all of whom died abroad before returning to China.

Life Fan was born in Pingyao, Shanxi, in 1682. The journey allowed Fan to observe Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia) and Bahia in Brazil, probably making him the first Chinese person to return and write about the Americas. They arrived in Lisbon in September 1708, and Fan met King João V of Portugal soon afterwards. Noël may have travelled ahead, but Provana and Fan remained in Portugal for months, only reaching Rome in February of the next year. Unable to change Clement's mind on the issue of the Chinese rituals, Fan toured Italy, studied Latin and theology, and was able to make many first-hand observations of aspects of 18th-century Europe, which very few Asians had had the opportunity to do before him. In 1717, he was ordained as a priest. Provana died during the voyage, and Fan returned to Macao alone. From Macao, he travelled north to Beijing for an audience with the Kangxi Emperor that was held on 11 October 1720. Fan died in Beijing on 28 February 1753. He was buried in the Jesuits' Zhalan Cemetery in Beijing.