Chinese theology and translation : the Christianity of the Jesuit figurists and their Christianized Yijing / Sophie Ling-chia Wei.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"This book uncovers the Jesuits mystic theological interpretation in the translation of the Book of Changes (the Yijing) in their mission in China. The book analyses how Jesuit Figurists incorporated their intra-lingual translation of the Yijing, the classical and vernacular use of Chinese language and the imitation of Chinese literati's format, and the divinization of Yijing numbers into their typological exegesis. By presenting the different ways in which Jesuit Figurists' Christianized the Yijing and crafted a Chinese version of Jesus and Christian stories onto the Chinese classics, this book reveals the value of Jesuit missionary-translators. The Chinese manuscripts the Figurists left behind became treasures which have been excavated and displayed in this book. These treasures reveal the other side of the story, the side not much shown in past scholarship on the Figurists. These handwritten manuscripts on the Christianized Yijing are a legacy which continues to impact the European understanding of Chinese history and civilization in later centuries. A first analysis of these manuscripts in Chinese, the book will be of interest to scholars working on the history of Christianity in China and East Asian Religion and Philosophy"-- Provided by publisher.

Cover; Half Title; Series Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; List of Credits; List of Figures; Foreword; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1: Introduction: Changes and non-changes in the Figurist interpretation of the Yijing; The Jesuit Figurists' encounter with the Yijing; Figurism in China; Finding the Prisca Theologia; Figurism and the Yijing; Topolects and Classical Chinese in intralingual translation; The making of Jesus in the hands of Jesuit Figurists; Different versions of manuscripts; Interaction with the Chinese literati; Numbers and charts in the Yijing

The emergence of Jesus in mythical legendsJesus-the Confucian sage; The making of Jesus in the hexagrams; The vernacular version of Jesus; Conclusion; Acknowledgments; Notes; Bibliography; Chapter 4: The classical and vernacular use of Chinese language in the Jesuit Figurists' re-interpretation of the Yijing; Introduction; Western missionaries' interests in Chinese languages and topolects; The Jesuit Figurists' use of the Yijing for exegetical decipherment of Chinese characters

A written space for communication with the Emperor: competition and cooperationManuscripts-Chinese literary garments; Conclusion; Acknowledgment; Notes; Bibliography; Chapter 6: Deciphering God's encoded messages with divine language: Jesuit Figurist theological interpretation of the Yijing's numbers; Introduction; The Jesuit Figurists' divinization of numbers; Divinization of numbers and the Kangxi Emperor; Divine numbers and charts in Figurists' proselytization; Conclusion; Acknowledgment; Notes; Bibliography; Chapter 7: Concluding remarks.

Local access dig.pdf. [Wei-Chinese theology and translation.pdf]. (also in epub).

ABSTRACT: TRANS-TEXTUAL DIALOGUE IN THE JESUIT MISSIONARY INTRA-LINGUAL TRANSLATION OF THE YIJING / Sophie Ling-chia Wei, Victor H. Mair

In Early Qing Dynasty, the Jesuit Figurists found the Yijing as their precious treasure and treated it as the bridge linking the gap between Christianity and Chinese civilization. The Yijing was viewed as preserving relics of this pure true religion. They tried to find Prisca theologia (ancient theology) in the Chinese classics, especially in the Yijing (the Book of Changes). This group of Jesuit Figurists viewed the Yijing as a prophetic book, which contained some of the mysteries of Christianity and so started their trans-textual dialogue with the ancient texts and the auxiliary commentaries of the Yijing. What distinguishes this dissertation from other academic research about the Jesuit Figurists is its focus on the Jesuit Figurists' Chinese works on the Yijing. Between 1710 and 1712, Bouvet wrote eight works about the Yijing in Chinese. This dissertation aims to discover the missing piece in the puzzle and make the whole research on the Jesuit Figurists' works of the Yijing more complete.
Though their endeavors on the re-interpretation of the Yijing and their proselytization failed to promote Catholicism as a national religion in China because the Kangxi Emperor and Chinese literati all had their own agenda, their dialogue with the Yijing to build the esoteric connection and parallels with Christianity reveals more and more valuable findings. The same mystical elements, such as numbers, images, characters in both the Western tradition of biblical hermeneutics, and the charts and hexagrams of Yijing, become tokens of exchange and disclose evidence of their deliberate interpretation. Each page of their Chinese handwritten manuscript should not be left unnoticed because they invite us to embark on a new journey to uncover their embedded mystic theological interpretation in their trans-textual dialogue in the intra-lingual translation of the Book of Changes.

Local access dig.pdf. [Wei-Jesuit Translation Yijing.pdf]