Apologia pro decreto S.D.N. Alexandri VII et praxi Jesuitarum circa caerimonias, quibus Sinae Confucium & Progenitores mortuos colunt / ex patrum Dominicanorum & Franciscanorum scriptis concinnata.

Bound with: Informatio antiquissima de praxi missionariorum Sinensium Societatis Jesu : circa ritus Sinenses, data in China, jam ab annis 1636. & 1640 à Francisco Furtado antiquo-Missionario, & Vice-Provinciali Sinensi ejusdem Societatis. Paris, 1700.
52, [10] p. ; 18 cm. (1st work) ; [40] 94 p. ; 18 cm. (2nd work)

JapSin I, (38/42) 41/2b
Bianji houzhi 辯祭後誌.
By Paul Yan 嚴保琭 (Yan Mo 嚴謨).
Manuscript, three folios, written during the autumn of 1695 (乙亥秋月).

Below the title (at the top of the first column on the first folio) there is the following note (in smaller characters): “Previously there was a volume Bian bo ji 辨駁祭 written by Master Wan (i.e., Francisco Varo) and a volume Fen bian ji 分辨祭 written by myself. Now that Michael in his turn has clarified master Wan’s ideas, I in my turn will select a number of sections [from Michael’s essay] and explain them.” 前萬師有辨駁祭一冊予有分辨祭一冊今默覺再伸萬師之意予復擇數條明之.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 65.

Keywords: Tianzhu ; Da Ming guidian ; Beijing, Nanjing ; Jiali ; Ancestral tablets. Chongmiao ; Zhutang ; ancestral temples ; Maillard de Tournon, Carlo Tommaso, 1668-1710 ; Maigrot, Charles, 1652-1730 ; Catholic Church. Congregatio Sancti Officii. Catholic Church. Pope (1700-1721 : Clement XI).

***Graphic resource.
Keywords:Shengyu 聖諭 ; filial piety, harmony between brothers, neighbors, thrift, husbandry (agriculture), necessity of schools, education of youth, rites and ceremonies, heterodox doctrines, Sixteen apothegms of Kangxi, family, propriety. meritorious deeds, Three Precepts (Sanjieming 三戒命), Daoism, rewards and punishments, daojiao 道教, Taishang ganyin pian 太上感應篇, Buddhism, retribution, Yuli chaozhuan, Ten Courts of Hell, Shidian yanjun 十殿閻君, annual festivals, New Year's, betrothal and marriage, death and funerals.

Informatio antiquissima de praxi missionariorum Sinensium Societatis Jesu : circa ritus Sinenses, data in China, jam ab annis 1636. & 1640. / à Francisco Furtado antiquo-Missionario, & Vice-Provinciali Sinensi ejusdem Societatis.

Bound with: Apologia pro decreto S.D.N. Alexandri VII et praxi Jesuitarum circa caerimonias, quibus Sinae Confucium & Progenitores mortuos colunt / ex patrum Dominicanorum & Franciscanorum scriptis concinnata. Lovanii : Apud Aegidium Denique, 1700. [OCLC# 18792133]
52, [10] p. ; 18 cm. (1st work) ; [40] 94 p. ; 18 cm. (2nd work)

JapSin I, (38/42) 39/4
Jili paozhi 祭禮泡製.
By Mathias Xia 夏瑪第亞.
Manuscript, Twelve folios. One volume. Chinese bamboo paper. 24 x 14 cm.

The cover bears the title and a Latin inscription: “De ritibus Çi, ex libro Li Ki, Auctore Hia Siam Cum seu Hia Mathia.”

From this passage it is clear that the Chinese rites conform to natural law and agree with the law of the supernatural. The first three of the Ten Commandments teach us to be at peace with Him and the remaining seven teach us to be at peace with our neighbour. This begins with filial piety, to honor one’s parents. The ancient emperors of China, being enlightened by God, taught their subjects to be at peace with their neighbor and they insisted that, to begin with, they should be at peace with their parents . . . (f. 5b–6a).

Those who honor their parents should not be blamed as usurpers of God’s right. What the natural law regards as right often agrees with the supernatural. Supernatural law tells us to love God; natural law tells us to love our parents. The supernatural law tells us to honor God, the natural law tells us to honor our parents . . . (f. 6b).

. . . Jesus foresaw that the Jews would accuse him as a violator of their religion. He therefore observed the law of Moses. He foresaw the accusation of forbidding others to pay tax to Caesar, he made the declaration that what belongs to Caesar should be rendered to Caesar. . . . If we wish to avoid false accusations we should understand the Chinese traditions from the view point of natural law. And, to be able to do this we must read Chinese books widely, since in them we can find out the natural law. We can never find out the natural law among the Chinese unless we study Chinese writings, and we cannot preach the supernatural in China, unless we understand thoroughly what the Chinese hold on the natural law. If we wish to preach to Chinese scholars by quoting copiously from the ancient writings of China as a proof of what we preach, we must be able to tell the sources of our quotations. The Chinese scholars then will be convinced and will show confidence in us. On the contrary, if we fail to quote Chinese writings in full detail in order to convince them, then, no matter what we say, they will not be convinced. Even if we try to tell them about supernatural mysteries they will not be ready to accept. Perhaps externally, they will pretend to agree, but in our absence they will do the opposite. [Hence, we repeat] we must study Chinese writings widely, if we wish to open the minds of the Chinese (f. 8a–9a).

If we wish to judge Chinese things clearly, we must go through Chinese writings carefully, just as a magistrate who is hearing a law suit must read carefully the writings of the accuser and the accused. It would be impossible [for him] to decide who was right and who was wrong unless he has gone through the papers of both sides. In the same manner, we cannot decide the right and wrong of Chinese things without going through Chinese writings.
The Chinese writings are the papers of accusation. An upright magistrate when he decides a criminal case makes sure that the innocent comes out free. How much more does this apply to a preacher of God’s holy religion. How can he arraign the innocent with false accusations? We must not try to excuse ourselves by saying that it is not necessary to study the Chinese writings, as they are of no importance. The Pharisees neglected the study of the ancient scriptures. As a result, they failed to grasp the mystery of the Incarnation. The three kings, on the other hand, living in the country of Bo’erxiya 百爾西亞 (Persia) studied books other than the Jewish religion and nevertheless they came to know that Our Lord Jesus had been born. God had enlightened the minds of pagans in pagan regions. These people had prophesied [the apparition] of the new star and this account was recorded in their ancient writings. God is everywhere. Who can tell for certain that there are no accounts of supernatural mysteries in the ancient Chinese writings? How can we explain the passage in the Zhouli 周禮 in which the victory over the devil by the [Holy] Cross is prophesied? (f. 10a–b).

JapSin I, (38/42) 41/1a
Jizu kao 祭祖考.

Folio 1r gives the title in Chinese below: 閩漳聖教後學嚴謨保琭定猷氏輯 (Compiled by Paul Yan Mo, zi Dingyou, a disciple of the Catholic religion and a native of Zhangzhou in Fujian).

Folios 8–11 (Suji zhi xie 俗祭之邪) contain Yan Mo’s own remarks. He contends that the old sacrificial rites do nothing but express one’s veneration for one’s deceased parents and have nothing to do with demons. They contain nothing against the Catholic faith. Hence, if these were forbidden to Christians, it might arouse criticism among the pagans who would say that Christians are not human beings, since they act so strangely. The Church might in consequence close her door to pagans. Yan Mo stresses strongly the distinction between ancient Chinese rites and rites adulterated by pagan practices, which must be regarded as superstitious (this passage appears also in Lishi tiaowen: Jap-Sin I, [38/42] 40/2, pp. 17–23).

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 62-63.

Note on this volume from the Philadephia Rare Books and Manuscripts Company:
The Chinese Rites Controversy [Thiberge, Louis]
Lettre de messieurs des missions etrangeres an pape sur le idolatries et le superstitions chinoises. Cologne, 1700. 12mo. A-R6 ; 206 (i.e., 204) pp.$750.00

"This work was printed several times between 1700 and 1720, including some undated editions. The colophon of this one states that it is reprinted from the "Exemplar Romae ex Typographia Reverendie Caniene ApostoIicae 1700," which to this cataloguer would indicate that the Rome, 1700, edition is the first, though no copies of it are recorded in NUC Pre-1956. Only two copies of this edition are shown. The letter mentioned in the title of this volume was sent from Paris to the pope on 27 April 1700 and appears here on pp. 3-146; pp. 147-151 contain a printing of the "Revocation de l'approbation donee en 1687 par M. l'Abbe Brissacier ... au livre de Ia Defense des nouveaux chretiens & des missionnaires de la Chine, par le R. P. le Tellier Jesuite." The book's other contents are 'le memoire suivant a ete envoie a Rome a la Sacree Congregation du Saint Office vers la fin de l'annee 1699" ; "Ordonnance de M. Maigrot" dated Chano Lo, Fokien, China, 26 March 1693; an anonymous account of ancestor worship and the role of Confucius; the "Decret de la Sacrée Congregation de la Propagation de la Foi, confirme par le pape Innocent X. en 1645"; and the decree of the Sacra Congregatio of 11 February 1700."

"Not in Maggs, Bibl. Asia. Contemporary dark sprinkled calf, round spine, raised bands, gilt spine extra; plain endpapers, lacking the rear one. Bottom spine-panel damaged with loss of leather. Brown staining to five early leaves, nearly all marginal, with the rest of the volume quite clean and crisp."

Libu zhigao 禮部志稿 ..... "Draft monograph of the Ministry of Rites containing administrative and ceremonial regulations, imperial edicts, memorials, etc., concerning the Ministry of Rites and its subordinate offices, tables of higher officials who served there from the beginning of the dynasty to the early Tianqi period, with some biographical data, biographies of the more important officials, and treatises (備考) on ceremonies, rites, offerings, examinations, ceremonial regulations, relations with foreign peoples, public institutions like temples and schools, etc. for which the Ministry of Rites was responsible. Most treatises cover the period from the beginning of the dynasty to the end of Longqing only .... contains materials not included in the Shilu, Huidian, and Jili .... completed Taichang 1 (1620) but the tables supplemented to Tianqi 4 (1624) ... " Cf. Franke, W. Introduction to the sources of Ming history, p. 181.

JapSin I, (38/42) 42/2
Three manuscripts by Li Jiugong 李九功, bound in one volume of sixty-eight pages.
Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 68.

JapSin I, (38/42) 42/2a
Lisu mingbian 禮俗明辨.
Given orally by Li Jiugong 李九功 and written down by Li Liangjue 李良爵.
Manuscript, fourteen folios (pp. 1–27). Chinese bamboo paper, one volume. 19.3 x 12.5 cm.

The end of the manuscript (f. 27v) bears the inscription: 古閩李多默口授 (given orally by Thomas Li of Fujian), 男良爵筆錄 (written down by his son Liangjue).

The manuscript is in the form of questions and answers. The questions are identical with those in the Liyi wenda 禮儀問答 (cf. [38/42] 40/7b). This book must have been written shortly before his death in 1681 (Kangxi 20), when he was an invalid and had to seek help from his son. He has told us that he was fond of reading throughout his life time, especially books on the Catholic faith (cf. Jap-Sin I, 34/37, 1, ji 第三集, ff. 13v–14v). He was very familiar with Catholic practices. In his replies to diverse questions, he quotes with great ease and shows particular interest in the current events of the missions. For instance, when asked about the ceremonies for saving the sun or the moon from eclipses his answer is: “The eclipses are things that belong to the natural course. They can be forecast and one must not attribute this to natural calamities. Long ago the priests who were serving at the Imperial Observatory explained this in their memorials to the throne. When did we see them agree with the populace and join in their practice?” Again, in dealing with the veneration of city gods, he says that angels are sent by God to guard cities and they are spirits, whereas the pagan city gods often have their statues and often these statues are attributed to some deceased persons, which is absurd.

Li Jiugong saw the great affinity between the Christian faith and Confucianism. He warned the missioners not to criticize Chinese writings bluntly. He contended that the Chinese language is a very flexible one. When, therefore, one reads a book one must pay attention to the whole context and should on no account separate the phrases and make interpretations based on separate phrases. If Chinese writing happens to be entirely wrong, one should never hesitate to point out the errors. On the other hand, if there are insignificant errors that do not go directly against the Catholic faith, it probably would be better to ignore them.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 68-69.

JapSin I, (38/42) 40/10a
[Liyi dawen 禮儀答問].
By Xia Madiya (Mathias) 夏瑪第亞.
Manuscript, folios 171–194. Chinese bamboo paper, one volume. 24 x 14 cm.

On the margin of folio 171 there is a Portuguese inscription: “Este tratado he de Hia Siam cum p. St^o nome Mathias, Bacharel de Kien cheu que mora na Igr^a de Can cheu e o deo à o P. Gabiani V. Pro. ¹” (cf. Jap-Sin I, 39/1).

If we wish to discuss things Chinese we must have sufficient Chinese books, otherwise we do not dare to make statements which may be uncertain, lest the pagans think that what we say is not true and we may lead them to think that our Christian teachings are false. In China, whatever we try to do must have an explanation. If we wish to discuss something we must go to the essential points before we can handle it. Hence it is not difficult to speak about something but it is difficult to be well informed. It is not difficult to be well informed, but it is difficult to possess all the necessary books.

1. Fengzhou tongjian 鳳洲通鑑 by Wang Shizhen 王世貞 (1526–1590).
2. Shiwu yuanshi 事物原始 (probably the author meant the Shiwu jiyuan 事物紀原 by Gao Cheng 高承 of the Song dynasty).
3. Soushen ji 搜神記 by Gan Bao 干寶 of the Jin 晉 dynasty.

He excuses himself for not being able to answer the questions fully because the above mentioned books were not available in Ganzhou. He vehemently denies that in the veneration of ancestors the idea of supplication for their protection and blessings was involved. At the same time he tries to show the misunderstanding of some of the adversaries who give quotations of the Classics without knowing the exact meaning of the context.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 60-61.

Traité sur quelques points de la religion des Chinois / par le R. Pere Longobardi, ancien superieur des missions de la Compagnie de Jesus. Translated by Louis de Cicé.

Library device : Bibl. Major. [ZiKaWei] L 32
Flyleaf title: Anciens traitez de divers auteurs sur les ceremonies de la Chine.
Keywords : Shangdi ; missions ; Chinese classics, Ricci, Ru, Dao, Macao, Caravallo, Viera, Pantoia, Gui, Shen, spirits, natural and native Chinese religions ; Wen Wang, Zhou Gong, Li, Taiji, ritual.

Bound with: Trait sur quelques points importans de la religion des Chinois.  Paris : L. Guerin, M.DCCI. (1701)

Local access dig.pdf. [Longobardo-Traite.pdf]

JapSin I, (38/42) 42/2b
Zhaichu wenda huichao 摘出問答彙抄.
Compiled by Li Jiugong 李九功.
Manuscript, six folios (pp. 29–39). Chinese bamboo paper, one volume. 19.3 x 12.5 cm.

This book is in the form of question and answer. The quotations are taken from Catholic writings of the time in reply to difficulties about the Chinese Rites. There are four chapters:

1. In reply on the veneration of city, mountain and river gods (taken from the Koutou richao 口鐸日抄, cf. Jap-Sin I, 81).
2. In reply on the veneration of Heaven and earth (taken from the Bianjing lu 辨敬錄 of João Monteiro, 1602–1648).
3. In reply on geomancy (taken from the Da Kewen, cf. Jap-Sin I, 146 and II, 75).
4. In reply on veneration of Guan Gong, the god of war (taken from the Da Kewen).

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 69.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 69.

JapSin I, (38/42) 40/8
Zhengli chuyi 證禮蒭議.
By Li Jiugong 李九功.
Manuscript, folios 71–96. Red ruled paper, one volume. 24 x 14 cm.

The title of the book is written on the upper middle centre of each folio; below is written: 卷一 (juan 1), followed by the number of the folio.
At the beginning there is an introduction by the author, in which he gives an explanation of the reason why the manuscript was written: with the introduction of Buddhism into China the customs of the people became more complicated and the rites became adulterated. The rites of the ancient kings suffered great detriment. To remedy this, careful study is necessary for a reasonable restoration. At the end of the introduction there is an inscription: 閩中景教後學李九功聖明多默著 (Written by Li Jiugong whose Christian name is Thomas, a native of Fujian and a disciple of the Catholic [literally: Nestorian] religion). The main text is divided into four parts:

1. On funeral ceremonies.
2. On burial ceremonies.
3. On the rites for ancestors.
4. On the rites for the veneration of Confucius.

Catholicism had been introduced in China only a short while before, and the problem of how to deal with Chinese rites and Chinese custom was pressing. An attempt to adopt Western traditions would have been incongruous for the Chinese. On the other hand, if all the Chinese traditions were followed, it was to be feared that many superstitious practices might interfere with the Catholic teaching; hence an accommodation was necessary. The term chuyi 蒭議(rustic opinion), which Li Jiugong gave to his book, clearly indicates that this was only one man’s idea, which he hoped the authorities would take into consideration and adopt as necessary. His discussion is based both on ancient Chinese writings and on Christian authorities, and it seeks to show that there was no contradiction between the two. But he opposes unorthodox doctrines vehemently. On folio 84 he points out that when the ancient classics say that Confucius venerated Heaven, the word tian 天 is taken to mean the Lord of Heaven. He therefore exhorts all the followers of Confucius to imitate the good example of the great master.

There are a number of mistakes in the transcription. Thus, in the introduction the phrase 五而季下 should be 五季而下 and on p. 84 朝聞夕可 the word 可 should be 死 The word 于 is often written as 子, the word 蠟 as 蠛, 豐 as [曲 + 豆], 幽 as [凶 + 米] and 譏 as [言 + 几]. Even the punctuation is not always correct.
Cf. Jap-Sin I, (38/42) 42/2c (earlier version).

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 56-57.