"A new exploration of Li Wenyu's life and works" / Guo Jianbin

Published in the Journal of the Study on Religion and History No. 1

Abstract:

Li Wenyu (李問魚) was a prominent Chinese Jesuit theologian, philosopher, educator, and pioneer of the Catholic press in late Qing China. This paper aims to systematically examine and verify the major events of Li Wenyu’ s life as well as his corpus of authored and translated works. A total of 78 works have been identified, of which approximately two-thirds are directly related to Catholic doctrine, catechism, liturgy, Church history, and hagiography. The remaining works span a range of disciplines, including the natural sciences, philosophy, history, and social institutions. His contributions on Western learning aligned with the societal demand for knowledge from the West in modern China, objectively advancing the nation’s modern development