Parallel lives, congenial visions : Christian precursors of modernity in China and Japan / Leopold Leeb.

"Authorised translation from the Chinese language edition Wo de lingru 我的灵儒 first published by Institute of Sino-Christian Studies, Tao Feng Shan, Hong Kong, 2023"--t.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Content:
This book introduces the history of cultural exchanges between East Asia and the West through comparative biographical sketches of sixty personalities from China and Japan. These sketches illustrate how both countries, starting from a shared cultural heritage in script and Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist worldviews, took rather different approaches in their encounters with the European world since the 16th to 17th centuries. In particular in the 19th century under external and internal pressure, both nations strove to modernize their societies by introducing technology and new ideas from the Western world, turning them into political rivals and even enemies. Thus, these biographical sketches also shed some light on the general dynamics of cross-cultural interactions between China, Japan, and the West up to the early 20th century.

The Chinese and Japanese men and women presented in this book are outstanding personalities who tried to open up the road to international relationships, pioneers in their respective domains who introduced Western culture to their nations, precursors who strove for modernization, e.g., in the fields of translation, education, medicine, media, and social welfare. They testify to individual agency in these cross-cultural exchanges. Many of those who tried to be “cultural bridge-builders” since the 16th century were Christians, simply because the missionaries, who worked hard to learn the native languages of China and Japan, were the first to introduce new cultural elements to these countries. The universal scope and vision of the Christian faith enabled both missionaries and native believers to overcome narrow nationalism or xenophobia and turned them into cross-cultural mediators.

Table of Contents:
Preface by He Guanghu
Preface by Muraoka Takamitsu
Preface by the Author

Introduction
Chapter One: The Trailblazers’ Guides: Anjirō (ca. 1520–1565) and Zhong Mingren (1562–1621)
Chapter Two: The First Translators of European Texts: Yohoken (ca. 1510–1596) and Xu Ruohan (ca. 1670–1740)
Chapter Three: Noble Promoters of Military Reforms: Ōtomo Sōrin (1530–1587) and Xu Guangqi (1562–1633)
Chapter Four: “Grace” and “Brilliance”: Hosokawa Garasha (1563–1600) and Candida Xu (1607–1680)
Chapter Five: Pioneers of Comparative Philosophy: Fukansai (1565–1621) and Yang Tingyun (ca. 1557–1628)
Chapter Six: The First Native Priests: Kimura (1565–1622) and Luo Wenzao (1617–1691)
Chapter Seven: The First Travelers to Europe: Itō Mancio (1569–1612) and Zheng Manuo (1633–1673)
Chapter Eight: Precursors of the Internationalization of the Script: Dourado (1567–1620) and Wang Zheng (1571–1644)
Chapter Nine: The First Editors of Bilingual Dictionaries: Martin Hara (1568–1629) and Huang Risheng (1679–1716)
Chapter Ten: The Earliest Celebrities in Europe: Hasekura Tsunenaga (1571–1622) and Shen Fuzong (ca. 1658–1692)
Chapter Eleven: Western Art in the East: Jacobus Niva (Ni Yagu, 1579–1638) and You Wenhui (1575–1633)
Chapter Twelve: Hope of the Suppressed: Amakusa Shirō (1622–1638) and Wang Maria (ca. 1855–1900)
Chapter Thirteen: Interrogation of a Messenger from the West: Arai Hakuseki (1657–1725) and Kangxi (r. 1662–1722)
Chapter Fourteen: Early Students of Western Medicine: Gao Leisi (1732–1795), Yang Dewang (1733–1798), and Sugita Genpaku (1733–1817)
Chapter Fifteen: The First Teachers of Western Languages: Ogata Kōan (1810–1863) and Xue Madou (ca. 1780–1860)
Chapter Sixteen: Organizers of Modern Media: Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835–1901) and Ying Lianzhi (1866–1926)
Chapter Seventeen: Creators of Universities: Yan Yongjing (1838–1898) and Niijima Jō (1843–1890)
Chapter Eighteen: Entrepreneurs and Philanthropists: Shibusawa Eiichi (1840–1931) and Lu Bohong (1875–1937)
Chapter Nineteen: The First Female Physicians: Ogino Ginko (1851–1913) and Jin Yamei (1864–1934)
Chapter Twenty: Pioneers of Women’s Education: Tsuda Umeko (1864–1929) and Zeng Baosun (1893–1978)
Chapter Twenty-One: Faith on the Way to Inculturation: Uemura Masahisa (1858–1925) and Zhao Zichen (T.C. Chao, 1888–1979)
Chapter Twenty-Two: Fathers of Constitutional Law: Ume Kenjirō (1860–1910) and Wu Jingxiong (1899–1986)
Chapter Twenty-Three: Creators of an Image of the East: Nitobe Inazō (1862–1933) and Gu Hongming (1857–1928)
Chapter Twenty-Four: Independent Prophets: Uchimura Kanzō (1861–1930) and Wang Mingdao (1900–1991)
Chapter Twenty-Five: Pioneers in the Study of History: Saeki Yoshirō (1871–1965) and Chen Yuan (1880–1971)
Chapter Twenty-Six: The First Students of Classical Hebrew: Kotsuji Setsuzō (1887–1965) and Li Rongfang (1899–1973)
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Indigenization of Christian Art: Chen Yuandu (1903–1967) and Watanabe Sadao (1913–1996)
Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Life for the Poor: Wu Yongbo (1916–2002) and Kitahara Satoko (1929–1958)
Conclusion: Two Nations on the Way to Modernity

Abstract:
This thesis explores the history of Christianity and conversion to it in 16th and 17th Century Japan. It argues that conversion is a complex phenomenon which happened for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, it argues that due to the political context and limitations acting upon the mission, the majority of conversions in 16th and 17th Century Japan lacked an element of epistemological change (classically understood). The first chapter explores theories of conversion suggesting that conversion in 16th and 17th Century Japan included sorts of religious change not usually encapsulated in the term conversion including adhesion, communal and forced conversion. Moreover, it argues that contextual factors are the most important factors in religious change. The second chapter explores political context contending that it was the political environment of Japan that ultimately decided whether conversion was possible. This chapter charts the evolution of the Japanese context as it became more hostile toward Christianity. In the third chapter, the context of the mission is explored. It is argued that limitations acting upon the mission shaped post-conversion faith, so that changes to practice and ritual rather than belief became the mark of a successful conversion. The fourth chapter explores methods of conversion, the factors influencing it, and post-conversion faith more directly. It argues that Christianity spread primarily through social networks, but that conversion was also influenced by economic incentive, other realworld benefits, and Christianity’s perceived efficacy. Building on Chapter Three, the final chapter also seeks to illustrate that the missionaries were not successful in their attempts to spur epistemological change or instil a detailed knowledge of theology or doctrine amongst their converts.

See St Andrews Research Repository for more information.
Local access dig.pdf [Morris-Rethinking Conversion Japan.pdf]

Authority note: Fujishima, Ryauon is LC auth. heading based on his name in French publications, however Fujishima Ryōon 藤島了隠 variant 藤島了穏 also used in sources. "....His Le bouddhisme japonais, 1889: t.p. (Ryauon Fujishima, ancien élève de la Faculté bouddhique du Hongwanji (Japon), membre de la Société asiatique de Paris)"--Cf. LC Auth. record.

Online (Harvard ed.) at HathiTrust.
Online (UC Berkeley ed.) at HathTrust.