have been baptised by Jesuit missionaries within fourteen years, making him a successful missionary. The Shunzhi Emperor died in 1661 and Schall von Bell's position started to erode. In 1664 he was challenged by Yang Guangxian and the Muslim astronomers, who accused him of planning a rebellion and of having wilfully miscalculated time and place of a funeral and in that way contributed to the death of Consort Donggo. Schall von Bell and other Jesuits, Ferdinand Verbiest included, were imprisoned. Schall von Bell had a stroke in prison. At trial, Verbiest spoke in his defense, but all were condemned to death. However, after an earthquake, the Jesuits were pardoned and only five Chinese Christians working in the astronomical office were executed. The Jesuits were exiled to Macau. Schall von Bell died within one year of his release. He was buried in the Jesuits' Zhalan Cemetery in Beijing. Yang Guangxian succeeded as the head astronomer at the court. Four years later, however, the young Kangxi Emperor replaced him with Verbiest, and von Bell's honors were fully restored. A collection of Schall von Bell's manuscripts was deposited in the Vatican Library. Dispute In 1758, an allegation, which is disputed by most Jesuits and Catholic historians, was made public. The secretary to Monsignor Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon reported that during the final years of his life Schall von Bell lived "separated from the other missionaries and removed from obedience to his superiors, in the house given him by the emperor with a woman whom he treated as his wife and who bore him two children." No evidence was provided and the allegations are even contradicted by contemporaneous witnesses and official Chinese documents. It is stated that if true, the story would almost certainly have been reported by others who sought to discredit Schall von Bell and other Jesuits. In addition, the Jesuit structure would most likely have reported the fact to authorities at higher levels of the order. The 1912 Catholic Encyclopedia suggests that the source of the rumor was most likely the adoption by Schall von Bell of the son of a former Chinese servant. Encounter with Prince Sohyeon Crown Prince Sohyeon, first son of King Injo of the Korean Joseon dynasty, was held hostage in Shenyang and later in Beijing. He was highly interested in western sciences and visited Schall von Bell. Schall von Bell gave him books on Western sciences