Subject: Figurism--China

An 18th-century Catholic–Daoist theology: complementary non-being and being in the Trinitarian Latin Laozi
AuthorTadd, Misha
CollectionRicci Institute Library
LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle (in Periodical)
ShelfDigital Archives
Call NumberBL1930.T333 2025
Description13 p.
Note

An 18th-century Catholic–Daoist theology: complementary non-being and being in the Trinitarian Latin Laozi / Misha Tadd

This article belongs to the Special Issue of 

"Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact" Religions 16

Abstract:
A fundamental question when comparing Western and Chinese traditions is what if any similarities exist between the key metaphysical concepts Being and Non-Being and you 有 and wu 無. We find an inspired solution in the oldest preserved translation of the Laozi, the “Liber Sinicus Táo Tě Kīm inscriptus, in Latinum idioma Versus.” This 18th c. Latin translation by a Jesuit Figurist makes a particularly fascinating argument for the equation of Being and you 有 and Non-Being and wu 無. Essential to this is recognizing Non-Being as a type of Being that more closely matches the Laozi’s term wu 無. From this starting point, the translator fuses the three cosmogonies of chapters 1, 40, and 42 to reveal a Daoism-inflected trinitarian theology where Non-Being (wu) and Being (you) become terms to express the complex relationship of the three divine Persons. This effort to connect Daoism and Catholicism both has great historical value and also may serve as a resource for articulating East Asian forms of theology.

Genesis and the mystery Confucius couldn't solve
AuthorNelson, Ethel R., 1923-Broadberry, Richard E.
PlaceSt. Louis
PublisherConcordia Pub. House
CollectionRicci Institute Library
EditionRev. ed.
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook
ShelfReading Room
Call NumberPL1281.N44 1994
Description174 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.
NoteGenesis and the mystery Confucius couldn't solve / Ethel R. Nelson, Richard E. Broadberry. -- Rev. 1994.
Originally published: Mysteries Confucius couldn't solve. South Lancaster, MA : Read Books, 1986.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [165]-166) and index.
Staff comment: This volume presents a Creationist interpretation of ancient Chinese script, i.e. the Chinese knew the Creation story and of the promise of a Savior. There are no notes, indices, or critical apparatus, and no reviews were found. In use of archaic Chinese (as opposed to the Jesuits?), the authors never cite where these characters come from; they appear to be randomly selected. This title appears in creation science bibliographies and websites. It seems essentially figurism with a modern face. Use with caution.
ISBN0570046351
LCCN93-50090
Jesuit Figurists and eighteenth-century religious thought
AuthorRowbotham, Arnold H. (Arnold Horrex), b. 1888
PlaceNew York
PublisherJournal of the History of Ideas
CollectionRouleau Archives
LanguageEnglish
TypeExtract/Offprint
ShelfFile Cabinet A
Call NumberPL1064.P73 R682 1956
Descriptionp. 471-485 ; 26 cm.
Note

The Jesuit Figurists and eighteenth-century religious thought / by Arnold H. Rowbotham.
"Reprinted from Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. XVII, No. 4, October, 1956, pages 471-485."

Moses or China?. [Actes du VIe Colloque International de Sinologie de Chantilly, 1989]
AuthorRule, Paul A. 魯保祿
Place---
Publisher---
CollectionRicci Institute Library
LanguageEnglish
TypeExtract (PDF)
ShelfDigital Archives
Call NumberPL1064.P73 R8 1989d
Descriptionpdf + doc.[29 p.]
Note

Moses or China? / Paul Rule.
Extract. Published as 'Moses or China?' in E. Malatesta & Y. Raguin, eds. Images de la Chine: le Contexte Occidental de la Sinologie Naissante, Actes du VIe Colloque International de Sinologie de Chantilly, 1989, San Francisco, Taipei, Paris (Ricci Institute) 1995, 303-331. ISBN 2 9505602 5 3.
Includes bibliographical references.
Local access dig.pdf. [Rule-Moses or China.pdf]