The Forgotten Christians of HangzhouBased on manuscripts from the once inaccessible former Jesuit library of Zikawei in Shanghai, this book breaks new ground in focusing on the generation that followed Matteo Ricci and other luminaries of the early China mission. Unusual in its coverage of both Jesuits and their Chinese literati converts, The Forgotten Christians of Hangzhou traces the development of the Christian presence in seventeenth century Hangzhou through the work of Jesuit fathers Martino Martini and Prospero Intorcetta, and Confucian scholar Zhang Xingyao, whose struggle to demonstrate the compatibility of Neo-Confucianism with the "Lord of Heaven Teaching from the Far West" forms the focus of D. E. Mungello's penetrating study. Zhang and his fellow literati converts were in almost all respects highly orthodox Confucians who nevertheless regarded Christianity as complementary to, and in some respects transcending, Confucianism. Their search for an intellectual blending of the two religions shows that, contrary to important recent studies, Christianity was inculturated into seventeenth-century China far more than has been realized. Prior to their dissolution at the hands of a hostile imperial government a century later, the Hangzhou Christians had built one of the most beautiful churches in East Asia, a seminary for training young Chinese priests, a library and printing center, and a Jesuit cemetery. The church and cemetery have since been reopened and the works of Hangzhou Christians are preserved in libraries in Shanghai, Beijing, and Paris. These architectural and literary monuments help reconstruct the features of one of China's most colorful and historical cities and the experiences of some of her most remarkable inhabitants. The Forgotten Christians of Hangzhou not only tells us their story but adds a new dimension to our knowledge of the assimilation of Christianity by Chinese culture - a process that is still under way today. |
Contents
In the Beginning | 11 |
The Elixir of Immortality from the Far West Cinnabar from Rome | 41 |
Through a Glass Darkly | 69 |
The Negligence of Todays Literati | 95 |
Loving the Lord of Heaven and Hating the Buddha | 121 |
In the Eastern Sea and in the Western Sea Sages Arise Who Are Identical in Thinking | 143 |
At the End | 169 |
APPENDIX | 179 |
NOTES | 183 |
GLOSSARY | 219 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 227 |
INDEX | 237 |
Common terms and phrases
ancestral halls ancient ARSI Beijing Buddha Buddhism cemetery century chapel Chinese culture Chinese history Chinese literati Chinese rites chinois Christianity in China church cited Classics Confucian Confucianism and Christianity Confucius Dafangjing Daoism death Dehergne dynasty edited Father Four Books Hangzhou Heavenly Teaching hell Hong human Ibid imperial inculturation Intorcetta Jesuits Jesus jian Yesuhuishi yizhu Jie's jing juan Kangxi emperor Literati Teaching Litterae Annuae Lord of Heaven Lord-on-High Manchu manuscript Martini Martino Martini Mencius meters Mind-Only Ming Ming-Qing jian Yesuhuishi missionaries monk morality Neo-Confucianism paifang Paris Pfister PLSTB preface punishment Qiantang Qing Ricci Rome sages Saint Savior seventeenth seventeenth-century Shang Shanghai Song dynasty soul Taipei Tang Tian Tianjiao Tianxue Tianzhu Tingyun tion translation TRTYK TYJXX Wang Xu Guangqi Xu Zongze Xujiahui Yongzheng emperor Yuan Zhang believed Zhang noted Zhang Xingyao Zhejiang province Zhongguo Tianzhujiao shi Zhou Zhou dynasty Zhu Xi
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