A Concealed Reading for Early Chinese Christians: Text, Context and Circulation of the Discourse on Vegetarianism (Su shuo ...) in the Early Modern Period
This article presents a critical analysis of the Su shuo ... (lit. Discourse on Vegetarianism). Published for the first time, the full text is given in Chinese, followed by a translation of the work into English. The article includes an examination of the text's philosophical relevance and valu...
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| Contributors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Archivum historicum Societatis Iesu
Year: 2022, Volume: 91, Issue: 181, Pages: 121-146 |
| IxTheo Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BL Buddhism BM Chinese universism; Confucianism; Taoism CB Christian life; spirituality CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history KBM Asia |
| Further subjects: | B
Spirituality
B Zen Buddhism B CHINESE Christian literature B Translations B Vegetarianism |
| Summary: | This article presents a critical analysis of the Su shuo ... (lit. Discourse on Vegetarianism). Published for the first time, the full text is given in Chinese, followed by a translation of the work into English. The article includes an examination of the text's philosophical relevance and value in the context of religious practices in seventeenth-century China. The Su shuo is one of ten sections in the manuscript, Cang ju ... (Concealed Sentences), preserved at ARSI. This ten-part work is a pamphlet written by Xiong Ding ..., most likely during the seventeenth century in China, where the author rejects superstitious beliefs and practices, including geomancy, predetermined fate, and folk deity worship, among others. The article outlines the text's probable later use by a group of Chinese Christians through the commissioning of a transcription for gift circulation. It shows how the text's author rejects superficially-practised Buddhist vegetarianism and fasting in cases where practitioners have no understanding of their real meaning: without directly quoting the classical texts of Chan Buddhism to support his argument, the author emphasizes the importance of knowing the core teachings and spiritual goals of Buddhism as the only reason for following Buddhist practices like vegetarianism and fasting. Taken together, the analysis, Chinese text, and English translation reveal the Su shuo as an important source for exploring the complex history of encounters and adaptations between different religions in seventeenth-century China. (English) |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Jesuiten, Archivum historicum Societatis Iesu
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