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When The Twain Met…. An Analysis of a 17th Century Chinese Christian Book: “A Mirror to encourage self-improvement” (Lixiu Yijian)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2010

Michèle Boin
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Extract

In his article “Research on the 17th century Mission in China and the Chinese Reaction”, Prof. Eric Zürcher referred to Chinese documents owned by the Sinological Institute of Leiden University, including “some very interesting texts that show us “late Ming Christianity in action”, such as devotional texts, stories about miraculous happenings”; (p. 113 b). One of these was the Lixiu yijian, A Mirror to Encourage (self-)Improvement. In this paper, I intend to analyse this document in order to show the interaction between mission Catholicism and Chinese popular religion, to demonstrate one facet of the meeting of East and West.

Type
Articles
Information
Itinerario , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , March 1984 , pp. 58 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © Research Institute for History, Leiden University 1984

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References

NOTES

1. Itinerario Vol. VII, 1, 1983.Google Scholar

2. (Catalogue Courant 6877–6878, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris).

3. In “The Lord of Heaven and the Demons. Strange Stories from a Late Ming Christian Manuscript,” to appear in a Festschrift for Derk Bodde, Prof. Zurchtr reaches conclusions similar to mine about Chinese popular religion, and I would like to thank Prof. Zürcher for drawing my attention to this manuscript, on which I wrote a paper during a seminar he ran in 1976-7. For a discussion of analogous phenomena, see Gernet, Jacques, Chine et christianisme; Action et reaction, Gallimard, Paris, 1982, especially chapter 2Google Scholar.

4. One day the Holy Trinity appeared' to the founder of the Jesuit order, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, as three organ pipes emitting the same sound. Delumeau, Jean, Le catholicisme entre Luther et Voltaire. Paris, Presses Universitaires, 1971, p. 94Google Scholar.

5. Bernard, Henri, Aux portes de la Chine. Les missionnaires du XVIe siècle (1514-1588), Tientsin, 1933, p. 171.Google Scholar

6. Delumeau, J., op. cit., p. 248.Google Scholar

7. See note 22.

8. The theme of sexual intercourse with animal-spirits, plant-spirits, demons etc. is not uncommon in Chinese tales. A picture can also behave like a human being. See Groot, J.J.M. de, The Religious System of China, Vol. IV, p. 344–345.Google Scholar In 16th century Europe, incubi and sucubi were swarming.

9. Pfister, Louis, Notices biographiques et bibliographiques sur les jesuites de l'ancienhe mission de Chine, 1552-1773, pp. 138, 201, 204.Google Scholar In modern Brittany there are still reports of holy water being drunk as medicine (cf. note 11).

10. The willow is a symbol of solar power, especially of Spring, of vivifying energy (the yang of yin/yang . It evokes the idea of immortality; cf. de Groot, J.J.M., Les fêtes annuellement célébrées à Emoui, Annales du musée Guimet, Paris: Ernest Leroux, pp. 252, 343.Google Scholar For the association evergreen (boxwood) with holy water in Catholicism, see note 11.

11. dou: “case” or “casket,” “coffin.” This is probably a pendant, a miniature container or reliquary, perhaps for ashes or incense. The Jesuits often mentioned being asked for medals, Agnus Dei, or pieces of wax, etc According to De Groot (Les fêtes annuellement..., pp. 327, 328, 343), it was a regular practice in China to wear miniature objects, often utensils, amulets, etc. on one's body, on the chest, on the arm, or hanging from the girdle. Even nowadays, in Brittany, old women not only hang up - some sixteen in one case - but also paste medals on their bodies with adhesive strips (communica- tion of my brother, a family doctor there). Perhaps modern technology thus facilitates the contiguity body-object. In Fujian, De Groot says, the objects were often made of willow wood, symbol of yang, solar energy and rejuvenescence. However, Schuyler Camman, in a study about miniature, portable carvings, writes that boxwood (huang yang mu, literally “yellow willow"), as an evergreen, was a symbol of longevity. It was considered highly auspicious, evil-averting, and used - as well as its blades or ashes - for exorcising charms (Substance and Symbol in Chinese Toggles. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1962: pp. 50–51, 153).Google Scholar When I was a child, a boxwood sprig, consecrated on Palm Sunday and dipped in holy water would be fixed on crucifixes at home.

12. Li Zhizao (1565-1630), “Doctor Leon” was one of the “Three pillars of the Christian religion” (with Xu Guangqi and Yang Tihgyiin ) during the late Ming period.

13. I did not mention the Holy Host, since it has no equi- valent in Chinese popular religion, as far as I know.

14. Christened Paul, he was a friend of Ricci and author of numerous books on Christian matters.

15. An essential concern in China, having its source in the Confucian ideology.

16. Cf. also Trigault, N., Histoire de l'expedition chrétienne au royaume de la Chine, translated by Gallagher, L., China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Matthew Ricci, 1583-1610, New York, 1953: pp. 429–430Google Scholar.

17. Zhang Geng (1571-1644) was a Fukienese notoriety, a converted scholar who contributed a preface to the second volume of the Mirror. His son Mike'er, “Michael” Zhang", died young and as a “saint.”

18. See Pfister, Louis, Notices biographiques et bibliographiques sur les jésuites de l'ancienne mission de Chine, 1552-1773, p. 745Google Scholar for a comparable possession case.

19. See Groot, De, Les fetes annuellement…, op. cit. pp.. 592, 623Google Scholar.

20. Two Christian mysteries particularly difficult to digest for Chinese minds. Cf. Gernet, J., op. cit., pp. 302–303Google Scholar.

21. See also Trigault, N. (Gallagher), op. cit., pp. 429–430Google Scholar.

22. Chinese mediums or shamans commonly use a brush to record supernatural messages in a trance - a sort of “écriture automatique” -. It is still widely practiced in Taiwan nowadays. For “planchette” type of oracle devices made of a winnowing fan or dust-basket and a broom-or. Chop-stick writing on sand or ashes, see Groot, De, The religious system of China; Reprint by Ch'en-wen Publishing Co., Taipei, Taiwan, 1969: pp. 1295 sqGoogle Scholar.

23. In Quanjun, Fujian province.

24. In the vicinity of Xi'an, and dating from 781.

25. Already mentioned in the section about “holy dou” or “lockets.”

26. Feast days: 22 of 2nd and 22 of 8th moons. Cf. Groot, De, Les fetes annuellement. pp. 518–519Google Scholar.

27. In Chinese popular religion, flags often symbolize a divinity's soldiers, posted to ward off evil influences.

28. Bernard, C.F.H., Aux portes… op. cit., p. 211.Google Scholar

29. The account appears also in Trigault, see Gallagher, , op. cit., pp. 345, sqGoogle Scholar.

30. Cf. Groot, De, Les fêtes annuellement. p. 321.Google Scholar

31. See Duby, George, Histoire de la France, Tome II, Dynasties et révolutions, Paris, Larousse, 1971, p. 111Google Scholar.

32. Cf. Robert Mandrou, Dela culture populaire aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siecles: la Bibliotheque bleue de Troues, Paris, Stock, 1964, p.75.Google Scholar

33. Cf. Mandrou, Robert, Introduction a la France moderne: Essai de psychologie historique (1500-1640), Paris, Albin Michel, 1961, p. 262.Google Scholar

34. My emphasis. Idem. p. 226.

35. Idem, p. 343.

36. Cf. Delumeau, , op. cit., p. 240.Google Scholar

37. Idem, p. 241.

38. See Mandrou, , Introduction à la France, p. 72Google Scholar.

39. Cf. Ferte, Jeanne, La vie religieuse dans les campagnes parisiennes, 1622-1695, Paris, Vrin, 1962, p. 336.Google Scholar

40. Idem, p. 340.

41. Bernard, Henri, Les lies Philippines du grand archipel de la Chine; un essai du conquete spirituelle de l'Extreme-Orient, Tientsin, Hautes Etudes, 136: p. 217.Google Scholar

42. Cf. Bernard, Henri, Le pere Matthieu Ricci et la société chinoise de son temps, (1522-1610). Tientsin, Hautes Etudes, 1937: pp. 175, 229, 379.Google Scholar

43. Idem, p. 357.

44. Pfister, L., Notices.… op. cit. p. 129.Google Scholar

45. Bernard, H., Aux portes…, op. cit., p. 238.Google Scholar

46. Pfister, L., Notices, p. 140.Google Scholar

47. Bernard, H., Le Pere Matthieu Ricci.…, p. 213.Google Scholar

48. Pfister, L., Notices…., p. 249.Google Scholar

49. Idem. p. 205.

50. Bernard, H., Le Père Matthieu Ricci…, p. 153.Google Scholar