20 shiji chuqi Jidujiao renshi de ye dao bijiao yanjiu 20世紀初期基督教人士的耶道比較研究 = On the Comparative Study of Christianity and Daoism by Christian Scholars in the Early 20th Century / by Xu Tao 徐弢

https://ccspub.cc/jrcc/article/view/460

Published in Zhongguo jidujiao yanjiu 中國基督教研究 = Journal of Research for Christianity in China, no.26 (2026) : 88-105.

Local access dig.pdf [Xu_Tao_20_shiji_chuqi.pdf]

Abstract:

20 世紀初期，在“非基運動”與民族覺醒思潮的推動下，部分中國基督教人士爲了促進基督教與中國文化的深度融合，開始日益關注基督教與道家道教的比較，並嚐試通過經典互釋等研究方法，探索構建一種具有中國文化特色的基督教思想體繫。與此同時，一些思想較爲開明的來華傳教士也逐漸摒棄以往對道家道教的偏見，並將耶道比較研究的視野從先秦道家擴展至後世道教的經典教義、儀式和方術等。儘管這些研究在總體上仍存在詮釋上的牽強與現實關切不足等局限，但其貢獻在於初步開啟了耶道平等對話的嚐試，拓寬了比較研究的領域與路徑，並爲基督教思想的中國化進程提供了重要理論資源和曆史參照。

In the early 20th century, driven by the "Anti-Christian Movement" and the wave of national awakening, some Chinese Christian scholars began to pay attention to the comparison between Christianity and Daoism in order to promote the integration of Christianity with Chinese culture. Through methods such as cross-textual interpretation, they attempted to explore the construction of a Christian theological framework with distinctive Chinese cultural characteristics. At the same time, some more open-minded missionaries in China gradually abandoned their earlier prejudices against Daoism and expanded the scope of comparative studies between Christianity and Daoism from pre-Qin Daoist philosophy to the later canonical doctrines, rituals, and practices of religious Daoism. Although these studies were often limited by forced interpretations and insufficient engagement with practical concerns, their contribution lies in initiating preliminary attempts at equal dialogue between Christianity and Daoism, broadening the field and approaches of comparative research, and providing important theoretical resources and historical references for the sinicization of Christian thought.

"...Apologetic text (in the form of a dialogue between anonymous people: a missionary or convert and a Confucian scholar) dealing with the folowing subjects: the nature of spirits, the soul and the body (pp. 405-413); the soul's independence of the body (415-419); animals have no soul (421-425); the immortality of the soul (427-434); the Great Ulimate is not the Creator (435-441); xingming, life (443-444); orthodox and heterodox spirits (444-454); man is directed toward the Upper Lord, shangzhu (455-463); retribution of good and evil after death (465-473); true religion is not restricted to the right morality (475-479); the need for true religion, i.e. that of the Lord of Heaven (481-485)...."
Source: Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database).