Jesuits and the early Chinese Catholic rosary : unveiling new insights into the authorship and origins of song nianzhu guicheng

Published in Journal of Jesuit Studies vol. 13 issue 1 

Also available throughBoston College Libraries

Abstract:
Song nianzhu guicheng 誦念珠規程 (The Method of Reciting the Rosary) is the earliest known illustrated Chinese Catholic work, published in the early seventeenth century. Debates over its authorship, publication date, and place persist in academic circles. While existing studies have productively examined its artistic features and visual adaptation, less attention has been devoted to systematic textual analysis. As a result, key questions about its textual provenance and authorship remain unresolved. This paper seeks to enrich the discourse by conducting a comprehensive comparison of the texts of song nianzhu guicheng, its Portuguese original, and another related Rosary work, in order to shed new light on the text’s composition and historical context.

Three main authorship hypotheses are critically examined: attribution to João da Rocha (羅儒望, 1565–1623), sole authorship by Gaspar Ferreira (費奇規, 1571–1649), or collaborative authorship involving Ferreira and Francisco Furtado (傅汎際, 1589–1653). Historical evidence seems to contradict Rocha’s authorship, as his documented work only treated the “Five Sorrowful Mysteries,” unlike the fifteen mysteries in song nianzhu guicheng. The case for Ferreira as the sole author is also problematic; close textual analysis suggests his version of the Rosary likely integrated and adapted Rocha’s earlier work. Drawing on records of missionary activities, this study argues that nianzhu was likely a collaborative work by several missionaries and was first published in Hangzhou between 1620 and 1628.

Jonathan Chaves 齊皎瀚: "An Eighteenth-Century Poem on Infanticide by Chiang Shi-chan (Jiang Shiquan)", pp. 1-4.
Ad Dudink 杜鼎克: "Note about the Four Precepts of the Church in Chinese Texts (ca. 1600-1800)", pp. 5-13.
Jonathan Chaves 齊皎瀚: "Chang Jui-tu (Zhang Ruitu) 張瑞圖 (1570-1641) Poem in Honor of Giulio Aleni, S.J. (1582-1649)", pp. 14-18.
David E. Mungello 孟德衛: "The Sad Tale of Lucio Wu (1713-1763)", pp. 19-33.
Ad Dudink 杜鼎克: "Note on the restored site (2003) of Xu Guangqi's tomb at Shanghai", pp. 34-37.
David E. Mungello 孟德衛: "Review Essay: A Journey to the East that Never Leaves Rome" (Review of Liam Brockey, Journey to the East and Han Qi & Wu Min's edition of Xichao dingan 熙朝定案), pp. 38-44.

New Publications in the field: Carroll, John M., A concise history of Hong Kong (2007) -- Dudink, Ad, Chinese books and documents (pre-1900) in the Royal Library of Belgium at Brussels (2006) -- Huang Xiaojuan 黃曉鵑, “Christian communities and alternative devotions in China, 1780-1860” Doctoral dissertation, Princeton University (2006) -- Li Jiubiao 李九標, Kouduo richao 口鐸日抄: Li Jiubiao’s diary of oral admonitions (2007) – Laamann, Lars Peter, Christian heretics in late imperial China: Christian inculturation and state control, 1720-1850 (2006) -- 中國來信 (1716-1735) [簡體] [捷克] 嚴嘉樂 (Karel Slaviček, S.J.) 著 (2002) -- Slaviček, Karel, Listy z Činy do vlasti (1716-1735) (1995) -- Standaert, N. & Dudink, A., Forgive us our sins: confession in late Ming and early Qing China (2006) -- Taveirne, Patrick, Han-Mongol encounters and missionary endeavors: a history of Scheut in Ordos (Hetao), 1874-1911 (2004).