"A treatise on friendship and the import of Christianized friendship Ethics into Late Ming–Early Qing China : a study of Martino Martini’s 'Qiu You Pian'" / Jiang Xiangyan

Published in Religions 2025, 17(2)

Also available through Boston College Libraries

Abstract:
This study focuses on Martino Martini’s A Treatise on Friendship (Qiu You Pian), exploring its content and means of introducing Christianized friendship ethics into late Ming–early Qing China. Through a close reading of the text and a comparative study with Matteo Ricci and Alfonso Vagnone, the 65 quotations in Qiu You Pian are classified according to their sources and listed, alongside corresponding ethical principles, in six tables according to the four types of original literature. It is clear that Martino Martini tried to convey Christianized friendship ethics in his work; compared to his forerunners, he delved deeper and made the greatest contribution to importing Christianized friendship ethics into China.