China Encounters Christianity:A Cultural Approach

As a special medium of culture,religion plays an important part in the history of cultural communication of the mankind. The communication between different cultures is often influenced by such a medium as religion The Chinese culture's two meetings with two different cultures-Indian culture and Western culture-were both caused by religionsDuring the later part of Ming Dynasty and the early part of Qing Dynasty,Matteo Ricci and other European missionaries came to China to preach Christian doctrines. Although their initial purposes were to spread Christianity,nevertheless,in order to achieve a better result,they adopted strategies quite different from the ones fashioned by missionaries who went to North America and from the ones used by the Nestorians who represented another branch of Christianity and who came to China in Tang Dynasty. The strategies that Matteo Ricci,Jean Adam Schall,Jules Aleni,Ferdnand Verbiest,and Antonio de Caballero utilized were a cultural one. Unlike their predecessors who must resort to force and violence in America,these missionaries in China made conscientious efforts to adapt Christianity with the local culture.They first decided to carry a Chinese cultural identity with their appearance. When they first appeared in the town of Zhaoqing in Guangdong,Michel Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci,for example,wore Buddhist monk frocks and called themselves "Western Monks" (Xi Seng),when they left Zhaoqing and arrived in Shaozhou,their second destination,they changed the monk frocks into the attire of the gentries and followed the latter's etiquettes They also tried to get in touch with the Chinese intellectuals so that they could be accepted by the upper class and blend themselves in the mainstream Chinese culture. It is clear that Matteo Ricci and his followers realize that Buddhism was not in the mainstream and that they avoid direct confrontations with Chinese culture.Secondly,they showed a new,appreciative attitude towards Chinese culture. Once they were in China,they began to learn the Chinese language and to study Chinese classics,considering the mastery of the Chinese language and classics a qualification for their religious cause in China This treatment of Chinese culture with reason and rationality as well as a high level of respect sets quite apart most of the 17th and 18th century missionaries in China from those who came after the Opium War and who adopted a more radical,confrontational,and irrational attitude towards Chinese culture.Additionally,the missionaries in China during this period also began a two-way cultural communication-introducing Chinese culture to the West on the one hand and bringing Western culture to China on the other,which marked this period a truestarting point of Chinese culture's meeting with the West. Matteo Ricci initiated a movement of "Introducing the Eastern Learning to the West" (Dongxue Xichuari),which was continued by Jean Grueber,Moyriac de Mailla,Antoine Gaubil,Joseph Emmanuel and others. This movement facilitated a Western understanding of China and a Chinese cultural impact on the Western philosophy as well as on Western cultureLikewise,in "Introducing the Western Learning to the East"(Xixue Dongjiari),the missionaries had remarkable achievements What appeared under the rubric of the "Western Learning" were translations of various academic fields such as from astronomy,mathematics physics,biology,philosophy,geography,and phonology. Granted,the act of translation remained only a means,motivated for quicker,wider,and more efficient spread of Christianity,the works from the West indeed exerted a strong influence on the Chinese society and brought a new world view to Xu Guangqi,Li Zhizao and other Chinese intellectuals Moreover,the writings from the West introduced to China a new,pragmatic spirit that served as a corrective to the seemingly "substantial" but in essence "weaseling" style that prevailed in the Chinese writings of that time. From a sociological standpoint,the "Western Learning" signaled the beginning of China's conscious...