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Artistic syncretism Along the Silk Road: Christian Art in China Before the Jesuit Missions
No full textIn the 7th century, missionaries of the Assyrian Church of the East increased their evangelical activities across Central Asia, particularly in Nisibis, Turkey, Arabia, India and China. Known in China as Bodijiao, literally Persian Religion, these early Christian missionaries were well received by the Tang emperors and obtained the consent to translate Christian texts and erect places of worship in several locations within the Chinese empire. A few centuries later, when Franciscan missionaries and European travelers and traders commenced diplomatic relations and trade with the new-established Yuan rulers in China they found evidence of earlier Christian missionary activity and initiated a new episode the Christianity in China under the support of the Catholic Church. In both cases, the use of Christian imagery was an important instrument for the transmission of doctrine and religious teachings as the missionaries recognized the eloquent power of images in religious syncretism. This paper discusses how images were used as a form of convenience exploring the proximity and similarity of forms and meanings between Christian and Buddhist art in China, from the Tang to the Yuan dynasties
中国与西方战争的谣言
Full text link“China has become of central importance not only for East Asia but for the whole of humanity. We want to continue our respectful dialogue with its people, aware that China is an important key for a peaceful world and has great potential for enriching our faith tradition, as many of its people long for a spiritual encounter with God in Christ.”(The Documents of General Congregation 35 of the Society of Jesus, Decree 3, 2008, p.65)“中国不仅对东亚的发展十分重要，对全人类的发展都至关重要。我们希望能够继续与中国人民进行礼貌交流，我们意识到中国是和平世界的一个重要关键点，中国有丰富我们信仰传统的巨大潜力，许多中国人民渴望领会基督上帝的灵性。”（耶稣会第三五届大会文献，2008年第3号法令，第65页
南怀仁与来华耶稣会士的科学形象
Full text linkFerdinand Verbiest is a representative figure among the Jesuits who came to China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The common view of later generations is to place him alongside his predecessors Matteo Ricci and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, shaping them as leaders of Western Learning Spreading to the East and disseminators of Western science.However, the scientific image of Verbiest and the Jesuits in China has not always been like this, and it can be examined according to the general division of Chinese history into three stages: Ming and Qing dynasties, modern times, and contemporary times. The significance of Verbiest will also be discussed from the history of evaluation to the evaluation of history.
Keywords: Ferdinand Verbiest, the Jesuits, scientific image, science南怀仁是明清之际来华耶稣会士群体之中的代表人物。后世常见的观点是将他和前辈利玛窦、汤若望并列，为他们塑造起西学东渐引领者和西方科学传播者的形象。但是，南怀仁和来华耶稣会士们的科学形象并非一直如此，可按中国历史大体分为明清、近代和当代三个阶段加以考察，还可以从评价的历史到历史的评价，讨论南怀仁这位人物的群体意义和历史意义。
关键词：南怀仁，耶稣会士，科学形象，科
“To Listen to the Language of Nature and to Act Accordingly” :: Natural Law as Beacon guiding to Human Flourishing and Ecological Civilization
No full textThe article sets off from a speech given by Benedict XVI in the German Bundestag in 2011, where he requested an ecological learning process to aim at sustainable human development. Appreciating the Ecological Movement, he asked to learn to listen to Nature’s language and act accordingly, which he applies analogically to “human ecology”. The article bridges elements of “Listening to Nature” and the Natural Moral Law Tradition in Benedict’s speech and in Francis’ Encyclical Letter Laudatu Si’ inview of serving human flourishing in an ecological civilization.
Keywords: Natural Moral Law; Nature, Laudatu Si’, Benedict XVI, Francis; Ecological Civilization/生態文明, Sustainable Development, Ecology of Man
A national mission in the times of Maximum Illud: The Holy See and Portugal's missionary policies in Africa
No full textThe First World War had devastating consequences for Christian missionary activities, with thousands of missionaries deployed to the front or arrested due to their nationalities. The war’s nationalistic frictions did not spare the religious field. As before, Christian missionaries were seen as representatives of their own countries rather than messengers of their religious denominations. In a way, Benedict XV’s apostolic letter Maximum Illud responded to those national (and imperialistic) dissensions in the Catholic missionary world by fostering a more supranational consciousness in missionaries’ minds. This supranational and Papal-directly-supervised mission was far from complying with Portugal’s old and persisting understandings of a mission submitted to and working on behalf of the imperial state. The Catholic missions remained a nationalising tool despite Portuguese laic policies towards the Catholic Church (namely the Separation regime). This concept disputed the Holy See’s insights on the goals of missionary work. Although pontifical officials held assertive judgements regarding Portuguese missionary policies, Rome sought a less confrontational relationship with Lisbon even after the publication of Maximum Illud. The Holy See understood how the Catholic missions were indispensable to Portugal and in which way a passive collaboration would ultimately benefit Catholic evangelisation in Portuguese Africa.
Keywords: Catholic Mission; Holy See; Maximum Illud; Portuguese Empir
在沉浮中保持灵修人生: 在尼撒的贵格利神秘主义的指引下开启现世和长久的灵修之旅
Full text linkWith the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we find ourselves living in a time of crisis. Our cultural and technological developments are being largely challenged. The pandemic tells us that the ultimate solution for all the problems we face is not in our own hands. God is where we find the final hope and salvation. In this regard, the present crisis may not be totally negative for our lives. To read the situation positively and even spiritually, we turn to the 4th-century Church Father Gregory of Nyssa, who is famous for his apophatic Mysticism. Viewing through the apophatic lens, the crisis has reminded us of the limitations of human intellectual power, which may turn our eyes to the final cause of the world, the ultimate meaning of life, and eventually what is essential for our final salvation. That is where we start our spiritual transformation anew.
Key Words Spiritual transformation, Gregory of Nyssa, apophatic awakening 新冠肺炎爆发让我们意识到自己生活在一个危机的时代。我们文化科技的发展正面临巨大挑战。这场大流行告诉我们，能解决当前一切问题的最终办法并非掌握在我们自己手中。在上帝那里我们才能找到最后希望和救赎。就此而言，目前的危机给我们生活带来的也不见得都是负面影响。我们要积极地甚至从灵修层面来分析现状，我们可以向生活在4世纪的尼撒的贵格利神父求助，他以否定神秘主义闻名。透过否定的视角，这场危机提醒着我们，人类智力存在局限性，这让我们最终将目光转向世界，生命的终极意义以及最终的拯救很重要。这也是我们再次开始精神转变的起点。
关键词：灵修转变，尼撒的贵格利，否定的觉
Religious Pluralism and Intercultural Dialogue in China: Strategy and Education in the context of three teachings discourses
No full textIn the history of religions in China, Three Teachings discourses develop the case for a harmonious relationship between Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism. These discourses represent a traditional Chinese strategy for the management of interreligious relations. In his apostolic letter Maximum Illud Benedict XV reminds missionaries that Christianity must not be presented as the religion of a foreign nation. The relevance of his warning is evident in the contemporary Chinese context where Christianity is widely seen as a foreign religion while Confucianism is understood to be a native cultural tradition. For the sake of the missio ad gentes, it is argued that Catholic missionaries should engage the Confucian tradition in intercultural dialogue. The paper then evaluates three main responses to religious pluralism, namely relativism, assimilation and interculturality. The paper ends with some brief remarks on the efforts at intercultural dialogue with China by a Catholic higher education institution in Macau.Keywords: China; Intercultural Dialogue; Macau; Maximum Illud; Religious Pluralism; Three Teaching
From Maximum Illud 1919 to the First National Synod Primum Concilium Sinensis 1924 in Shanghai: Historical & Theological Perspectives
No full textThe Synod is as old as the Church itself. The concept originates from Greek σύνοδος, literally, “coming together,” “joint way”, “assembly”, “concourse”. Following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is the proper forum to address major challenges in the church, e.g., the admission of Gentiles (Jerusalem 50 AD), the nature of Jesus Christ (Nicaea 325 AD), or the role of Mother Mary in the history of Salvation (Ephesus 431 AD). For the whole of China, as late as 1924 a First National Synod was convened to deliberate and decide on major issues of inculturation of faith and the sinicization of the universal Church in China. It was convened by the Apostolic Delegate Celso Costantini in Shanghai 1924, and was a response to Pope Benedicts XV’s urgent mission directive Maximum Illud (1919) during a time of dramatic and historical transitions in China.
Keywords: Celso Costantini; Christianity in China; Colonialism; Inculturation; Maximum Illud; Mission and Politics; Sinicization; Synod of Shangha