Subject: Superstition--China--Miscellanea--Catholic authors

Manuel des superstitions chinoises, ou, Petit indicateur des superstitions les plus communes en Chine
AuthorDoré, Henri, 1859-1931
PlaceChang-hai
PublisherImprimerie de la Mission catholique à l'Orphelinat de T'ou-sé-wé
CollectionBibl. Sinensis Soc. Iesu, Ricci Institute Library [AM]
EditionDeuxième ed.
LanguageFrench
TypeBook
Series
ShelfAdmin. Office, Rare Book Cabinet
Call NumberDS721.D674 1936
Descriptionvii, 221 p. ; 18 cm.
Note

Manuel des superstitions chinoises, ou, Petit indicateur des superstitions les plus communes en Chine / par le P.H. Doré, S.J.
Preface to first edition dated 1926.
Includes table of contents, index.
"Ex Libris Alphonse Maillet, Shanghai, 1941" [collection uniformly bound]
1926 edition (lacks Chinese characters) available online at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi Les classiques des sciences sociales.

Illustrated edition online at Chine ancienne.
Library has 2 copies, one in Maillet binding, the other in original cover (Rare Book Cabinet)

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Shuwen pian 述聞篇. [Jap-Sin I, (38/42) 40/4]
AuthorQiu Sheng 丘晟, d.1663
PlaceTaibei 臺北
PublisherTaipei Ricci Institute 利氏學社
CollectionRicci Institute Library
Edition
LanguageChinese 中文
TypeBook
SeriesYesuhui Luoma dang'anguan Ming-Qing Tianzhujiao wenxian 耶穌會羅馬檔案館明清天主教文獻 ; 第10冊, Chinese Christian texts from the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus ; v. 10
ShelfHallway Cases
Call NumberBX1665.A2 Y47 2002 v. 10
Descriptionv. 10, pp. 177-362 ; 22 cm.
NoteShuwen pian 述聞篇 / Qiu Cheng zhu 丘晟著.

JapSin I, (38/42) 40/4
Shuwen pian 述聞篇.
By Qiu Sheng 丘晟.
Manuscript, ninety-two folios. One volume, Chinese bamboo paper. 24 x 14 cm.

The cover bears the title, the author’s name and a Latin inscription: “Xo uen pien sive capita S.ae legis ex Philosophia Sinica & auctoritatibus demonstrata, auctore Kieu Chim, kiu gin de Fokien Ciam Lo Sien.”
In his preface the author states that the book was written from what he had heard from his father and the Western missioners. “It is a summary of several things that I wish to present to men of good will throughout the empire. I do not pretend to say that what I have written is anything extraordinary. However, the doctrine is a universal one. It therefore must be better than writings that might lead people astray.” The table of contents gives the sixteen chapters of the book:

1. Fate.
2. Fortune-telling.
3. Geomancy.
4. The choice of lucky days and divination.
5. Buddhism and Daoism.
6. Witches, wizards and fairies.
7. The disreputability of temples of idols.
8. Angels and demons.
9. There must be a Lord in heaven.
10. Confucius knew how to serve God.
11. The soul must have its final resting place.
12. A repentant sinner can also merit heaven.
13. The Incarnation and Ascension are true facts.
14. Fasting.
15. Western scholars.
16. There should be ceremonies for the worship of ancestors.

In the middle of each folio the first word of each chapter is marked on the top and below the number of the chapter given can be found.
As far as we can see, this manuscript has never been published. In his letters to the missioners (Jap-Sin I, [38/42] 40/3) Qiu Sheng wrote:

The literati of our time keep on arguing and will not embrace the faith, contending that such words (i.e., words of missioners who had studied Chinese writings without thoroughly understanding them) are not convincing. Many doubt about the reality of the Incarnation and Redemption and regard fate, fortunetelling, geomancy etc. as not entirely fictitious. They believe in Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and doubt the Christian fast. For this reason, I did not spare myself but wrote this book, the Shuwen pian, in order to solve one by one the doubts of the Chinese. Some of the things I wrote have already been said by missioners, others are entirely new. They are all written in correct Chinese so as to increase the interest of the readers. . . . Both the doctrine and the expressions were carefully studied to make sure that there should be no errors. There is no need to alter any of the words, to do so might damage the Chinese style. All I plead is to have the manuscript printed as soon as possible so that we may propagate our holy religion. As there are no good engravers in Jiangle [who could make the blocks], we do not intend to do it here. Once it is printed we should like to have some copies for our church at Jiangle. Please drop me a line to let me know your opinion . . .
We can appreciate the zeal and effort of Qiu Sheng, who tried to write a book about a Catholic faith adapted to the Chinese way of thinking so as to suit the mentality of the Chinese. He was no doubt aware that in their writings the missioners either had failed to understand the Chinese mentality or, because of their Western philosophy, had made things difficult for the Chinese mind to grasp.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 48-49.

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