Jesuits presented evidence in both French and Chinese to defend Christianity by citation of legal and historical precedents in favor of the "Teaching of the Lord of Heaven" (Catholicism) even after the Yongzheng Emperor's 1724 imperial edict proscribed the religion as a heterodox cult. The Jesuits' strategy is traceable to Matteo Ricci's early missionary approach of accommodation to Chinese culture, which aimed to prove grounds for a Confucian-Christian synthesis based upon complementary points between Christian theology and their interpretation of Yuanru (Original Literati Teaching). Their synthesis involved both written and oral rhetorical techniques that ranged from attempts to show compatibility between different religious values, to the manipulation of texts, and to outright deceit. Personal witness, observation, and interpretation played a key role in Jesuit group translation projects. French and Chinese apologetic texts composed to prove grounds for the repeal of the 1724 proscription edict contain these approaches. The Lettres édifantes et curieuses écrite par des missionnaires jésuites (1702-1776) contain examples of this approach, as well as the Ruijianlu (1735-1737). Memorials in the Ruijianlu cited favorable legal precedents and imperial patronage rendered to Xiyangren (Men from the West). Jesuits presented their case for toleration of Christianity in the Ruijianlu in terms of Chinese notions of hospitality, diplomacy, and defense found in texts from as early as the Zhou dynasty. They cited an enduring Chinese defensive notion of "welcoming men from afar" (rouyuanren), but the court refused to return to this soft policy. The Qianlong Emperor rejected the Kangxi era policy of "welcoming men from afar" regarding established missions. In 1735 the imperial Board of Punishments re-enforced the proscription order against Christianity in military units and also ruled that baptism of abandoned infants by a Chinese convert constituted religious heterodoxy based on the Qing Code (Article 162). The twenty-one Jesuits (not expelled in 1724) remained in imperial service and at liberty to practice their religion among themselves. Officials pursued a severe policy of punishing any cult deemed heterodox according to statutes of the Code. Persecution of Christians increased throughout the eighteenth century, but abated during the reign of the Daoguang Emperor (1821-1851) when most anti-Christian edicts were rescinded and a subsequent imperial edict pardoned those Christians who practiced the faith for moral perfection.

This suffering is my joy : the underground church in eighteenth-century China / D. E. Mungello.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

The underground church in China -- Matteo Ripa's attempt to establish a school for Chinese priests in China -- Founding of the Chinese college for priests in Naples -- Racial and cultural tensions between Chinese and European priests in China -- Emergence of the underground church -- European and Chinese forms of martyrdom.

"This book studies the Chinese Catholic church in a time of persecution, focusing in particular on the role of Chinese clergy and lay leaders in maintaining communities of clandestine Catholics. D. E. Mungello portrays a world in flux, where the certainties of the past were beginning to give way to new insights"--Provided by publisher (OCLC rec'd.).
Tracing the little-known history of the first underground Catholic church in China, noted scholar D. E. Mungello illuminates the period between the imperial expulsion of foreign Christian missionaries in 1724 and their return with European colonialism in the 1800s. Few realize that this was the first time in which Chinese, rather than Europeans, came to control their own church as Chinese clergy and lay leaders maintained communities of clandestine Catholics.

Mungello follows the church in a time of persecution, focusing in particular on the role of Chinese clergy and lay leaders in maintaining communities of clandestine Catholics during the eighteenth century. He highlights the parallels between the 1724 and 1951 expulsions of missionaries from China, the first driven by a Chinese imperial system and the second by a revolutionary Communist government. The two periods also reflected foreign bias against the Chinese priests and laity and questions about their spiritual depth and constancy. However, Mungello shows that the historical record of incarcerated and interrogated Christians reveals a spiritually inspired resistance to government oppression and a willingness to suffer, often to the point of martyrdom.

Zhongguo guanshen fanjiao de yuanyin 中國官紳反教的原因 (1860-1874) / Lü Shiqiang zhu 呂實強著.
Cover title also in English: Origin and cause of the anti-Christian movement by Chinese officials and gentry, 1860-1874.
Includes bibliographical references.

Library has 3 copies + pdf: 1. Rm 102-103 ; 2. ASCC ; 3. Hardbound with inserted booklet and notes (ASCC)

Local access dig.pdf. [中國官紳反教的原因.pdf] & Origin and cause of the anti-Christian movement by Chinese officials and gentry, 1860-74.pdf]