Celibacy, chastity and self-cultivation in the thought of Jesuits and Chinese Catholics in late Ming and early Qing China / Dai Biyun

Published in Religions 2025, 16(10), 1310

Abstract:
This article examines Catholic celibacy from the late Ming to early Qing dynasty, revealing how Jesuit missionaries and Chinese Catholics interpreted and advocated for chastity. It highlights how missionaries such as Matteo Ricci and Giulio Aleni connected chastity with the ethical knowledge of self-cultivation and the doctrine of salvation, while adapting it to Chinese culture through Confucian concepts like subduing one’s self. The article also explores the conflicts and integrations of chastity ideals among different intellectual traditions, such as the critiques by Buddhist monk Yunqi Zhuhong and Confucian scholar Xu Dashou, as well as how supporters like Yang Tingyun and Zhu Zongyuan reconciled Christian chastity with Confucian ideals of self-restraint and virtuous conduct.

 Scholastic Metaphysics in Late Ming China : Giulio Aleni's the True Source of the Myriad Things / Hosle, Paul K. ; Dai, Biyun

 Singapore :  Palgrave Macmillan, 2025.

Abstract:

This book provides the first complete English translation of Giulio Aleni’s Wanwu Zhenyuan 萬物真原 (‘The True Source of the Myriad Things’). Aleni is one of the most important Jesuit missionaries to China, as is evidenced by the fact that he was reverentially called already during his lifetime ‘Confucius from the West’. Aleni’s work, first published in 1628, offers precious insight into the ways in which he tried to communicate Western philosophical notions to Confucian literati, arguing that only God can be the ultimate source of the world. In our introduction, we situate this work within Aleni’s life and analyze the argument of the text. We discuss the Scholastic framework that Aleni uses in his attempt to prove God’s existence, as well as his arguments against competing positions from native Chinese philosophical traditions, particularly Neo-Confucianism. We also emphasize the importance that Aleni gives to reason as the best possible means of intercultural communication. Moreover, we have provided numerous annotations to the translation that identify references, provide historical and philosophical contextualization, and otherwise aid in the appreciation and elucidation of the work. This book provides an essential step to render this significant text more accessible to a wider readership interested in Jesuit missionary history and indeed more broadly in cross-cultural dialogue, and it will also serve as a vital tool for future scholarly research on Aleni’s oeuvre.