The Silencing of Jesuit Figurist Joseph de Prémare in Eighteenth-Century China

The Silencing of Jesuit Figurist Joseph de Prémare in Eighteenth-Century China
Author: D. E. Mungello
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2019-06-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1498595650

The image of a voice in the wilderness evokes an outcast who has been condemned and banished by society. That image fits the scholar-priest Joseph de Prémare who spent the last thirty-eight years of his life (1698-1736) mainly in remote areas of China. He was condemned to silence by not only his religious superiors, but also by intellectuals in Europe. He was silenced because his Figurist theories were regarded as dangerous and implausible. And yet the irony of this silencing is that Father Prémare was one of the most knowledgeable Sinologists of all time. As a missionary in towns in the southern province of Jiangxi, he was freed from many pastoral duties by an assisting catechist and able to devote himself to intensive study of Chinese texts. He was practically a scholar-hermit who left the urban, politicized atmosphere of Beijing after only two years to return to Jiangxi province. There he cultivated Chinese literati who helped him assemble a remarkable collection of classical texts. He was prolific in producing a wide body of works in philology, history, philosophy, religion and drama. Faced by critics who were claiming that Chinese culture was alien to Christianity, Prémare joined the effort led by his fellow Jesuit Joachim Bouvet to save the Christian mission in China from destruction. The Figurists were radical in arguing that the ancient Chinese texts, like the Old Testament, anticipated the coming of Christ long before his birth. They claimed that Chinese commentators erred in viewing these ancient texts as records of history when in fact they were works of metaphorical and figurative meaning. Influenced by a Chinese scholar, Prémare made a philological analysis of Chinese characters to explain his theory. When Figurism was condemned by his religious superiors, Prémare attempted to circumvent their prohibition by sending his manuscripts to the proto-Sinologist Etienne Fourmont in Paris, asking that they be published anonymously. Fourmont criticized Prémare’s theories and failed to publish them. By the time of his death, Prémare had sent most of his manuscripts to Paris where they remained buried for many years.

Angelo Zottoli, a Jesuit Missionary in China (1848 to 1902)

Angelo Zottoli, a Jesuit Missionary in China (1848 to 1902)
Author: Antonio De Caro
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2022-07-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 981165297X

This book offers a study of the cosmogonic works by Fr. Angelo Zottoli S.J., a Jesuit missionary who has received relatively little attention by modern scholars, but who deserves a special recognition for his theological and philosophical ideas. More generally, the book aims to shed light on the importance of cosmogony in the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary environment of Xujiahui, the area in modern Shanghai where Zottoli flourished. It shows how through Zottoli’s teaching and sermons he was able to reimagine his own cosmogonic ideas, his personality, and his relationship with local Chinese converts. Among Zottoli’s most famous students was Ma Xiangbo (馬相伯 1840–1939) and Zottoli played a crucial role in Ma’s intellectual formation. A wider familiarity with Zottoli’s works is not only interesting in and of itself, but also paves the way to future studies on the complex and multifaceted relationship between European missionaries and Chinese students in Shanghai during the nineteenth century.

The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500–1800

The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500–1800
Author: D. E. Mungello
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2024-09-17
Genre: History
ISBN:

For the Chinese, the drive toward growing political and economic power is part of an ongoing effort to restore China's past greatness and remove the lingering memories of history's humiliations. This widely praised book explores the 1500–1800 period before China's decline, when the country was viewed as a leading world culture and power. Europe, by contrast, was in the early stages of emerging from provincial to international status while the United States was still an uncharted wilderness. D. E. Mungello argues that this earlier era, ironically, may contain more relevance for today than the more recent past. Building on the author's decades of research and teaching, this compelling book illustrates the vital importance of history to readers trying to understand China’s renewed rise.

This Suffering Is My Joy

This Suffering Is My Joy
Author: D. E. Mungello
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2021-03-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1538150301

Tracing the little-known history of the first underground Catholic church in China, noted scholar D. E. Mungello illuminates the period between the imperial expulsion of foreign Christian missionaries in 1724 and their return with European colonialism in the 1800s. Few realize that this was the first time in which Chinese, rather than Europeans, came to control their own church as Chinese clergy and lay leaders maintained communities of clandestine Catholics. Mungello follows the church in a time of persecution, focusing in particular on the role of Chinese clergy and lay leaders in maintaining communities of clandestine Catholics during the eighteenth century. He highlights the parallels between the 1724 and 1951 expulsions of missionaries from China, the first driven by a Chinese imperial system and the second by a revolutionary Communist government. The two periods also reflected foreign bias against the Chinese priests and laity and questions about their spiritual depth and constancy. However, Mungello shows that the historical record of incarcerated and interrogated Christians reveals a spiritually inspired resistance to government oppression and a willingness to suffer, often to the point of martyrdom.

Asian Pacific Catholicism and Globalization

Asian Pacific Catholicism and Globalization
Author: José Casanova
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2023
Genre: Globalization
ISBN: 1647123798

"This book argues that the development of Catholicism in Asia was closely connected with globalization. Since the 16th century Catholicisms has contributed significantly to global connectivity, while at the same time the Church 's global expansion has transformed the Church's own global consciousness. Casanova and Phan adopt a framework of three distinct phases of the development of Catholicism in Asia and Oceania - early modern (16th to 18th centuries), modern Western hegemony (1780s to the 1960s), and the contemporary, after Western hegemony. With this framework, contributors discuss the development of Catholicism in all major countries of the region, including China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, and Australia. Except for the Philippines and Timor-Leste, Catholicism in Asia is and is likely to remain a minority religion for the foreseeable future. For that reason, however, it can serve as a unique prism through which to look at the processes of globalization in Asia, precisely because the historical processes through which Catholicism took roots in the entire region and became inculturated as an Asian religion are so intimately connected with the processes of globalization"--

融會中國與西方 Bringing Together China and the West

融會中國與西方 Bringing Together China and the West
Author: 馬思途Stuart M. McManus
Publisher: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2023-01-01
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9882372619

2023年,香港中文大學迎來六十周年校慶。值此重要時刻,當反思大學使命—「結合傳統與現代,融會中國與西方」的歷史意蘊與時代價值。大學圖書館藉此難得機會,舉辦紀念展覽,展示館藏中日益豐富的西方漢學珍本。 本圖錄記錄了展出的藏書,並一一簡述概況,涵蓋從十五至十九世紀中葉的書籍、地圖和手稿。珍藏之中不乏最優秀的早期漢學著作。其中許多作品均由利瑪竇、湯若望等知名耶穌會教士撰寫,他們縱然人數不多,但在深入接觸近代早期中國社會與文化的過程中,一手創立了近代漢學,留下了近距離觀察中國的珍貴記錄。隨著這些傳教士的著作傳回歐洲,關於中國的歐洲書籍愈加準確詳細,歐洲人對中國的了解也與日俱增。本圖錄透過豐富的圖像,以及細緻的介紹和描述,呈現出一幅生動的早期歷史圖景,展現西方對中國持久而深入的興趣和理解,以及中西淵源的交疊與關聯。透過本圖錄,讀者亦可藉此思索如何更好地「結合傳統與現代,融會中國與西方」。 In 2023, The Chinese University of Hong Kong celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of its foundation. This occasion provides a moment for reflection on the historical and contemporary meanings of the university’s mission “to combine tradition with modernity and to bring together China and the West.” To this end, the celebrations include an exhibition of the University Library’s burgeoning collection of Western rare books about China, which is recorded and contextualized in this catalogue. This splendid volume features books, maps, and manuscripts from the fifteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. Among its treasures are some of the very finest works of early Sinology. Many of these were written by celebrated Jesuit missionaries like Matteo Ricci and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, who though few in number almost single-handedly founded modern Sinology through their deep engagement with early modern Chinese society and culture. As the writings of these missionaries percolated back to Europe, knowledge about China grew exponentially as European books about China became more accurate and detailed. Through its extended introduction, images, and descriptions, this catalogue illustrates the dynamic early history of the West’s longstanding and profound interest in China, thereby giving members of the university community and the public at large an opportunity to consider how we might better “combine tradition with modernity and bring together China and the West.”

Encountering China’s Past

Encountering China’s Past
Author: Lintao Qi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2022-04-12
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9811906483

This book features articles contributed by leading scholars and scholar-translators in Translation Studies and Chinese Studies from around the world. Written in English, the articles examine the translation of classical Chinese literature, from classics to poetry, from drama to fiction, into a range of Asian and European languages including Japanese, English, French, Czech, and Danish. The collection therefore provides a platform for readers to make comparative and critical readings of scholarship across languages, cultures, disciplines, and genres. With its integration of textual and paratextual materials, this collection of essays is of potential interest to not only academics in the area of Translation Studies, Chinese Studies, Literary Studies and Intercultural Communications, but it may also appeal to communities outside the academia who simply enjoy reading about literature.

History Retold

History Retold
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2022-09-26
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9004521321

This collected volume focuses on the history of Western translation of premodern Chinese texts from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Divided into three parts, nine chapters feature close readings of translated texts, micro-studies of how three translations came into being, and broad-based surveys that inquire into the causes of historical change. Among the specific questions addressed are: What stylistic, generic, and discursive permutations were undergone by Chinese texts as they crossed linguistic borders? Who were the main agents in this centuries-long effort to transmit Chinese culture to the West? How did readership considerations affect the form that particular translations take? More generally, the contributors are concerned with the relevance of current research paradigms, like those of World Literature, transcultural reception, and the rewriting of translation history.

Routledge Handbook of East Asian Translation

Routledge Handbook of East Asian Translation
Author: Ruselle Meade
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2024-09-05
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1040107516

Routledge Handbook of East Asian Translation showcases new research and developments in translation studies within the East Asian context. This handbook draws attention to the diversity of scholarship on translation in East Asia, and its relevance to a variety of established and emerging fields. It focuses on hitherto less-explored interactions, such as intra-Asian translation encounters, translation of minority languages, and translation between East Asian and non-European languages, while also contributing to a thriving body of historical scholarship on East Asian translation traditions. Contributions reflect a growing awareness of the cultural and linguistic heterogeneity within nations, and the reality of multilingualism and plurilingualism among many communities in East Asia. A wide variety of translatorial practices are discussed, including the creative use of Chinese in Japanese-language novels, the use of translation to evade censorship online, community theatre translation, and translation of picture books. The volume also includes contributions by practitioners, who reflect on their experiences of translation and of developing training programmes for community interpreters. This handbook will appeal to researchers and students of translation and interpreting studies. Chapters are likely to be of value to those working, not only in East Asian studies, but also disciplines such as literary studies, global cultural studies, and LGBT+ studies.

Appropriating the Dao

Appropriating the Dao
Author: Lukas K. Pokorny
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2024-04-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1350289582

Assembling original contributions, this book is a pioneering attempt to address the Euro-American esoteric reception and appropriation of China. Positioned between eighteenth-century's mesmerism and intersections with the modern martial arts current, the contributions specifically centre on nineteenth and early twentieth-century occult appraisals and representations. This book opens up an under-explored area of research in the field of East–West interactions and the global history of religions.