| Note | Edition found in 耶穌會羅馬檔案館明清天主教文獻. Chinese Christian texts from the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus, v.9, pt.46. . Xingmi pian 醒迷篇 / wumingshi 無名氏.
Bibliographical citation see: Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database)
Arranged in 3 sections, on the nature of God and His doctrine, criticism of atheism and superstition; on creation. Criticism of Buddhism, idolatry of Buddhist images, and Buddhist sects. Criticism of Daoism and popular religions, dieties, and practices (fengshui geomancy, divination, physiognomy)
JapSin I, 150
Xingmi pian 醒迷篇.
By an anonymous author.
Manuscript, one juan. Chinese bamboo paper in one volume. No date.
The cover bears the title Xingshu pian 醒述篇 (the character shu 述 is a mistake for mi 迷). The Latin inscription reads: “Sim mi pien | Espergefactio coecorum, seu de Deo & refutatio idolatriae | et superstitionum si | nicarum | auctore Anonymo.”
The title page has the inscription: 順治拾五年八月中秋日寫成，諳德勒記 (Finished copying on the Mid Autumn day, the eighth month of the fifteenth year of Shunzhi [i.e., 1658], Andele [Andreas]). Across the Chinese characters 諳德勒 there is a seal in seal characters: Tianxue tushu 天學圖書 (Catholic books). There is another seal that reads: 英和之印 (the seal of Yinghe). An inscription on the left reads: 連皮柒拾陸篇 (seventy-six folios including the covers).
There is a table of contents (two folios) with the following five titles: 主宰篇 Treatise on the Lord [of Heaven]), 佛者 (On Buddhism), 道者 (On Daoism), 神者 (On spirits) and 術者 (On magic).
Arabic numbers are given on the folios. On folio 3 after the characters mulu 目錄 (table of contents) and on folio 5 after the title Xingmipian 醒迷篇 one finds the seal 天學圖書 and in each of the treatises the seal of Yinghe 英和之印 (both also found on the title page).
Both the handwriting and the style of the manuscript are poor. Vulgar words are often used, which gives the impression that the author was an uneducated catechist.
This manuscript was written to refute superstitions, regardless of which religion. It does not try to go in for historical facts. For instance, although the Xiyouji 西游記, which tells of the travel of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang (596–664) to India, is a novel, Xuanzang himself was a historical person who did bring back to China Buddhist scriptures. The author of the Xingmipian, however, tries to disprove that fact, saying that: “the prayers recited by Buddhists in our days are not prayers from the West. There are no prayers handed down from India.” This statement is certainly incorrect.
Cf. Courant 7149, 7150 I, 7151 I.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 202. |
