Cross Encounters Dragon Totem

In Ming ;and Qing Dynasties, the introduction of Christianity into China promoted the transmission of religions, and moreover, declared the inchoation of cross-cultural communication between China and Western countries. Thereafter, based on such exchanges between Christianity and Chinese religions, a new style dialogue came into being: religious cultural dialogue. It maintained the nature and belief of the religion, and meanwhile, endeavored to seek for the mutual respect and understanding in cultures on the basis of equality and identity. It played a very important role in realizing "de-centralism" between China and the west and, as an preferable dialogue pattern facilitating cultural communication between different countries, it won an effective way to realize the mutual understanding and amalgamation in religions and cultures between China and the west. Therefore, exploring the forming, developing, as well as the various changing in religious strategies and cultural meaning of both parties of the dialogue, we can better catch the basic laws of religious dialogue and, following its principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit and coordinate development, promote the discourse and development of human civilization in the current globalization context. Particularly, in such a global context, the cultural and religious conflicts between different regions are becoming worse, world pacifism and anti-terrorism policies seem more eager and impending over everyone's real life. Therefore, it is necessary for us to be highly alert and interested in exploring the inter-religion and cross-cultural dialogue, which is also our responsibility for the future of the humankind.Focusing on religious cultural dialogue, this paper will use two chapters discussing the exploration and practice of the dialogue; exploring the process of its conflicting and breaking as well as the reasons; and revealing the hardships of religious cultural dialogue as well as its enlightenments to the modern society.Chapter I focuses on the influence of the western religions on Chinese culture. When western missionaries came to China in Ming and Qing dynasties, they rejected the strategies of force conquer and spirit colonialism characterized by Europe Centralism (欧洲中心主义), and explored the effective cultural dialogue between Christianity and Confucianism in an creative way from the perspectives of acculturation, cultural identity, classic interpretation and cultural assimilation, technological merging and cultural domination, etc. Acculturation refers to the adaptation and respect of the foreign religions to the surface part of the native culture such as language, customs and traditions and raiment etc. This is an effective background and essential precondition for cultural dialogue. The missionaries (with Ricci Matteo as the representative) coming into China in late Ming dynasty learned Chinese actively and tried to communicate and write in Chinese, which helped them win the trust and acceptance of Chinese. Meanwhile, in the communication with Chinese scholars and officials, they put off the robes of the churchmen and put on Chinese clothes so as to gain the identity of Chinese scholars and officials. This gave the missionaries a complicated mutual identity. On one hand, it helped them adapt to Chinese culture and can carry out cultural dialogue smoothly; on the other hand, it also regulated and limited their mission to spread Christianity. Their identity as a Chinese scholar or official rather than an independent missionary planted hidden troubles of the future religious and cultural conflictions.With the help of a sound accomplishment in Chinese language and knowledge, the missionaries could write books combining both the Confucius and Christianity to preach principles of Christianity. In interpreting some Christian classics, for example, Tuggieri claimed the idea of "Replacing the Buddha" ("易佛") in his book of "Memoir of Holy Christianity"《天主圣教实录》 ); while Ricci Matteo, in his book of" The Real Interpretation of Christianity" (《天主实义》...