"The fascinating story of Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) changing himself while trying to change the religious faith of the Chinese has been told many times. As a Jesuit, Ricci pushed Christian evangelism by claiming a theistic affinity with Confucianism and by presenting himself as a defender of Confucian orthodoxy from Buddhism. Already in his day, Ricci’s unusual cultural adaptation was controversial; not surprisingly, scholarly studies have hitherto focused almost exclusively on variations of this controversy. Reacting mostly to Ricci’s account of events, this line of research has provided insight, but much more can be learned about the early-modern cross-cultural encounter of Europe and China if the perspective is broadened to include his intricate and intriguing relationships with his Chinese friends. With his distinctively different religiosity, personal charisma, and knowledge of European science and mathematics, Ricci impressed the social and cultural elite of late Ming China, many of whom befriended him and some of whom became Christian converts. However, between him and his Chinese friends there were always disagreements, resulting sometimes from a lack of understanding or misunderstanding, and sometimes even when they apparently understood each other perfectly. Followed closely as the investigative thread of this book, the many kinds of disagreement cast an unusual light on an otherwise long familiar subject and are instructive for the at times tense and even hostile, but in reality always mutually energizing relationship of both competition and complement between China and the West in the early twenty-first century"--p.4 of cover.

Introduction: The Useful Instructions of Disagreement -- Journey to the Far East -- Michele Ruggieri -- Matteo Ricci -- Chapter Outline -- Chapter 1. Preparing the Ground for Evangelism: Matteo Ricci's Terms of Endearment in Jiaoyou Lun -- The Politics of Affection -- The Popular Reception -- The Distinct Lack of Distinction -- The Implications of Rhetoric -- The Divergent Expectation and Fulfilment -- Chapter 2. Reading Theism into Confucianism: Matteo Ricci's Ambiguous Alliance in Tianzhu Shiyi -- Ruggieri's Catechism -- Ricci's Revision -- Harmonious Disagreement -- The Tactical Maneuver -- The Ambivalent Appreciation -- The Surprising Directions of Change and Legacy -- Chapter 3. Arousing Antagonism out of Buddhism: Matteo Ricci's Deliberate Provocation in Tianzhu Shiyi -- The All-out War -- The Erstwhile Peace -- The Calculated Change -- The Gain and Loss -- Measures of Cultural Understanding -- Chapter 4. Making Use of Stoicism: Matteo Ricci's Surprising Breakthrough in Ershiwu Yan -- The Incongruent Mutual Appreciation --Epictetus and Adaptation -- The Unexpected Triumph -- The Secret of the Appeal -- Chapter 5. The Ambiguity of Intimacy and Distance: The Exemplary Friendship of Qu Taisu -- An Unusual Acquaintance -- A Relationship of Mutual Satisfaction -- A Skeleton in the Closet -- Intimacy and Distance -- Signs of Ideological Disagreement -- Chapter 6. The Intricacies of Motivation and Benefit: The Catholic Faith of Xu Guangqi -- Life before Baptism -- The Complex Motivation -- The Delicate Intimacy -- The Ambiguous Benefit -- Chapter 7. The Attractions of Science and Spirituality: The Independent Journey of Li Zhizao into Catholicism -- Family History and the Fateful Encounter -- The Limitations of Attraction -- The Subdued Voice of Reservation -- The Conversion -- Science and Faith -- Chapter 8. The Many Kinds of Acceptance and Rejection: The Ideological Commitment of Yang Tingyun -- The Mingled Doctrinal Influences -- The Different Degrees of Spiritual Openness -- The Conversion -- The Acceptance and Rejection -- The Question of Faith -- Conclusion: The Enduring Lesson of History.

Symptoms of an unruly age : Li Zhi and cultures of early modernity / Rivi Handler-Spitz.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Transparent language: origin myths and early modern aspirations of recovery -- The rhetoric of bluff: paradox, irony, and self-contradiction -- Sartorial signs and Li Zhi's paradoxical appearance -- Money and Li Zhi's economies of rhetoric -- Dubious books and definitive editions -- Provoking or persuading readers? Li Zhi and the incitement of critical judgment.

Symptoms of an Unruly Age compares the writings of Li Zhi (1527-1602) and his late-Ming compatriots to texts composed by their European contemporaries, including Montaigne, Shakespeare, and Cervantes. Emphasizing aesthetic patterns that transcend national boundaries, Rivi Handler-Spitz explores these works as culturally distinct responses to similar social and economic tensions affecting early modern cultures on both ends of Eurasia. The paradoxes, ironies, and self-contradictions that pervade these works are symptomatic of the hypocrisy, social posturing, and counterfeiting that afflicted both Chinese and European societies at the turn of the seventeenth century. Symptoms of an Unruly Age shows us that these texts, produced thousands of miles away from one another, each constitute cultural manifestations of early modernity.

Local access dig.pdf. [Handler-Spitz-Symptoms of an unruly age.pdf]

The objectionable Li Zhi : fiction, criticism, and dissent in late Ming China / edited by Rivi Handler-Spitz, Pauline C. Lee, and Haun Saussy.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction / Rivi Handler-Spitz, Pauline C. Lee, Haun Saussy -- Authenticity and Filiality. The Problem of Genuineness in Li Zhi / Wai-yee Li -- Li Zhi's Strategic Self-Fashioning: Sketch of a Filial Self / Maram Epstein -- Friends and Teachers. The Perils of Friendship: Li Zhi's Predicament / Martin W. Huang -- A Public of Letters: The Correspondence of Li Zhi and Geng Dingxiang / Timothy Brook -- Affiliation and Differentiation: Li Zhi as Teacher and Student / Rivi Handler-Spitz -- Manipulations of Gender. Image Trouble, Gender Trouble: Was Li Zhi an Enlightened Man / Ying Zhang -- Native Seeds of Change: Women, Writing, and Re-Reading Tradition / Pauline C. Lee -- Performing Authenticity: Li Zhi, Buddhism, and the Rise of Textual Spirituality in Early Modern China / Jiang Wu -- Afterlives. Performing as Li Zhi / Robert E. Hegel -- Li Zhi and the Question of Life and Death in Ming-Qing Intellectual History / Miaw-fen Lu.

"The iconoclastic scholar Li Zhi (1527-1602) was a central figure in the cultural world of the late Ming dynasty. His provocative and controversial writings and actions powerfully shaped late-Ming print culture, commentarial and epistolary practice, discourses on authenticity and selfhood, attitudes toward friendship and masculinity, displays of filial piety, understandings of the public and private spheres, views toward women, and perspectives on Buddhism and the afterlife. In this volume, leading sinologists demonstrate the interrelatedness of seemingly discrete aspects of Li Zhi's thought and emphasize the far-reaching impact of his ideas and actions on both his contemporaries and his successors. In doing so, they challenge the myth that there was no tradition of dissidence in premodern China"-- Provided by publisher.

Local access dig.pdf. [Objectional Li Zhi.pdf]