JapSin I, (38/42) 40/6a
Bianji 辨祭.
By Yan Mo 嚴謨.
Manuscript, folios 1–11. Chinese bamboo paper, one volume. 24 x 14 cm.

The cover bears the title Sidian 祀典 (cf. 40/7a) and a Portuguese inscription: “Refutação do Trattado do P’ien Çi do R.P.Fr. Franc^o Varo. 3^o M.S. Sinico.”

He does not base his argument on the original meaning of the word sacrifice, nor has he made a study of the Zhuwen 祝文 (the forms of invocation) written throughout the centuries. He has only picked out one or two ambiguous phrases from the Classics knowing nothing of the original meaning and not trying to arrive at an intelligent understanding of its context, but simply weaving together what he finds into a plot. For him the thing seems to be too easy!

JapSin I, (38/42) 41/1c
Bianji 辨祭.

An inscription on the margin reads: Pien-çi.

P.S. The Kaoyi 考疑 (Jap-Sin I, [38/42] 40/6b) in one volume was written after the writing of Master Wan (萬老師 i.e., Francisco Varo, O.P.), who had taken more than ten quotations from the Liji and Shijing to prove that the veneration of ancestors implies personal participation of the dead in the banquet and supplication for happiness on the part of the living. I have studied the original [and found that] there is nothing there pertaining to supplication for happiness nor is there any real presence or participation of the dead. Unfortunately my original draft is no longer to be found and for this reason I am unable to make you a copy. However, this book is with [Master] Luo (i.e., 羅肋山 Ciceri) and Li (i.e., 李西滿 Simão Rodrigues), who are now in Beijing. If you think it is acceptable, kindly let me know at your convenience. You can have a copy made from them and if you succeed in doing so, I should be very grateful for receiving a copy myself.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 63-64.

JapSin I, (38/42) 40/9a
Jisi wenda 祭祀問答.
By Hong Yinajue (Ignatius) 洪依納爵, Zhu Ximan (Simon) 朱西滿 and Yang Boduolu (Peter) 楊伯多綠.
Manuscript, folios 101–119. Chinese bamboo paper, one volume. 24.5 x 14.5 cm.

The cover bears a Portuguese inscription: “Sobre as controversias.” The first folio bears the title in Chinese. The upper margin bears a Latin inscription: “Tractatus datus P. Intorcettae a Christianis in Ham cheu de Che kiam sub titulo ci su uen ta.”

At the end of the manuscript there is a letter addressed to Bai laoshi 白老師 by the same authors. Among the Jesuit missioners of this time there were two who had Bai for their family name in Chinese, namely, Johann Grueber 白乃心 (1623–1680) and Joachim Bouvet 白晉 (1656–1730). Since neither of them had ever been missioners in Hangzhou, it is hardly possible that either of them was the person to whom the letter was addressed: “Since your Reverence left us several years ago we have often thought of your Reverence. When will your Reverence be back with us in Hangzhou and give us another chance to listen to your teaching?” I am of the opinion that the recipient may have been Philippe Couplet whose Chinese name was Bai Yingli 柏應理 (1642–1693) and who was a missioner for some time in Zhejiang.
The content of the letter is substantially the same as that of the manuscript. It is interesting to note that the scholars had been asked by Intorcetta whether the Jesuit missioners had allowed Catholics to burn paper money or to read sacrificial odes or to perform other superstitious practices. Their reply was that such things had never happened nor had such things ever appeared in their writings. However, at the end of the letter they gave the information that in Jinhua 金華 (i.e., Lanqi 蘭谿) a certain Mr. Zhu had claimed to have heard something different and had tried to lead the faithful to change the rules. According to our three scholars this way of acting could not be tolerated.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 57-58.

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.

JapSin I, (38/42) 41/1a, 1b, 1c
Jizu kao 祭祖考.
Muzhu kao 木主考.
Bianji 辨祭.
By Yan Mo 嚴謨.
Three treatises, Chinese bamboo paper, bound in one volume. Twenty folios with one cover folio and one folio with a table of contents. 23.4 x 14.2 cm.

In the middle of each folio the heading is given on the upper part. The number of the folio is given below. The table of contents contains eight headings:

[41/1a]
1. Ji zhi yuanyi 祭之原意 (The original meaning of sacrifice) (ff. 1–3).
2. Sandai jiyi 三代祭儀 (The sacrificial ceremonies of the Three Dynasties) (f. 4).
3. Songru jiali 宋儒家禮 (The Jiali of the Song scholars) (ff. 5–6).
4. Houdai zhuwen 後代祝文 (Forms of invocation throughout the centuries) (f. 7).
5. Suji zhi xie 俗祭之邪 (The falsity of the vulgar sacrifices) (ff. 8–11).

[41/1b]
6. Muzhu kao 木主考 (Study on the tablets of deceased persons) (ff. 12–14).
7. Muzhu zonglun 木主總論 (Summary on the tablets of deceased persons) (f. 15).

[41/1c]
8. Bianji 辨祭 (Distinctions on “sacrifice”) (ff. 16–20).

Although the table of contents gives no. 5, the heading in the middle of the folios fails to give it. Below the heading 辨祭 in the table of contents (no. 8) there is a note: 此篇是因福安所作辯祭之文翻駁中祭禮故作辨祭以分別之 “In Fu’an [Fujian] someone has published the treatise Bianji (i.e., Francisco Varo, O.P.) criticizing the Chinese rites. We now write the Bianji in refutation of the above mentioned treatise.”
For the biography of Yan Mo, cf. Jap-Sin I, (38/42) 40/2.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 61-62.

JapSin I, (38/42) 40/7a
Sidian shuo 祀典說.
By Zhang Xingyao 張星曜 of Hangzhou (Zhejiang).
Manuscript, folios 33–46. Chinese bamboo paper, one volume. 24 x 13.5 cm.

The cover bears the title and a Portuguese inscription: “Este he obra de un Letrado de Hoan cheu. A mandou o P. Intorcetta.”

Zhang Xingyao (zi 虎臣, hao Yinazi 依納子 [Ignatius]), was a native of Hangzhou and came from a scholar family. His father Zhang Fuyan 傅岩 (zi 殷甫, hao 伯雨) had been a disciple of Michael Yang Tingyun 楊廷筠. Zhang Xingyao was baptized about the year 1678 (Kangxi 17). In 1689 (Kangxi 28) he and his countryman Hong Ji 洪濟 published the Piwang 闢妄 of Xu Guangqi and appended to it a small treatise, written by them together, entitled Piwang lüeshuo tiaobo 闢妄略說條駁 (cf. Jap-Sin I, 132a).
Zhang also wrote the Tianjiao mingbian 天教明辯, the manuscript of which (in twenty volumes) is still to be found in the library of the Beitang in Beijing. The preface he wrote for this book is dated 1711 (Kangxi 51). The book was too voluminous and never came to see the light. Instead Zhang Xingyao made an abridgement in three parts, to which he gave the title Tian Ru tongyi kao 天儒同異考 (A study on the difference between Catholicism and Confucianism). The three parts are:

1. The Catholic religion is in harmony with Confucianism.
2. The Catholic religion adds something new to Confucianism.
3. The Catholic religion excels Confucianism.

The preface by the author is dated 1702. The introductory note (bianyan 弁言), however, was written in 1715, when Zhang Xingyao was 83 sui. So we know that Zhang was born in 1633 (Chongzhen 6).
Zhang Xingyao wrote another book, the Lidai tongjian jishi benmo bu houbian 歷代通鑑紀事本末補後編 in 50 juan. The manuscript is mentioned by Mo Youzhi 莫友芝 (1811–1871) in his catalogue Song-Yuan jiubenshu jingyanlu 宋元舊本書經眼錄. The Beitang library catalogue (no. 1946) gives an incomplete manuscript of this work in two volumes, containing only juan 1–7.
Cf. JWC 2:99–104.

Source: Albert Chan, SJ, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 53-55.