"One of the few separate treatises on the sacraments and sacramental practices in Christian communities during the late Ming dynasty. This treatise chiefly deals with confession and the Eucharist. For publication date of 1627, Cf. N. Standaert, S.J., Handbook of Christianity in China, v. 1, p. 624.

See Fr. A. Chan, S.J. ARSI description Jap-Sin I, 79
No publisher or place of publication; for source and full bibliographic record see Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database).
See Borg. Cin 381 (3) edition online.

Dizui zhenggui 滌罪正規 / [Ai Rulüe zhu 艾儒略著].
In: Yesuhui Luoma dang'anguan Ming-Qing Tianzhujiao wenxian 耶穌會羅馬檔案館明清天主教文獻 / Edited by Nicolas Standaert [鐘鳴旦] [and] Adrian Dudink [杜鼎克]. Reproduction of original text in vol. 4 of this collection. 

One of the few separate treatises on the sacraments and sacramental practices in Christian communities during the late Ming dynasty. This treatise chiefly deals with confession and the Eucharist. For publication date of 1627, Cf. N. Standaert, S.J., Handbook of Christianity in China, v. 1, p. 624.

JapSin I, 79
Dizui zhenggui 滌罪正規.
By Ai Rulüe 艾儒略 (Giulio Aleni).
Four juan. Chinese bamboo paper in two volumes. Published by the Catholic church of Fuzhou, Fujian. No date of publication.

The cover bears the title in Chinese with the Latin inscription: "Tractatus de Sacramento paenitentiae a p. Julio Aleni, S.J. 4 tomi."

The center of the title page bears the title in four large characters with the author’s name on the right and the place of publication on the left. The verso of this folio gives the name of the author and those of the censors: Gao Yizhi 高一志 (Alfonso Vagnone), Yang Ma’nuo 陽瑪諾 (Manuel Dias Jr.) and Fei Qigui 費奇規 (Gaspar Ferreira).
There is a preface by Yang Tingyun 楊廷荺 (four and one-half folios) and a table of contents (three folios). The main texts of juan 1–4 contain thirty-one, twenty-eight, twenty-four and twenty-eight folios. Each half folio consists of nine columns and each column contains nineteen characters. The upper middle of each folio bears the title with the number of the folio below.
"Ces quatre volumes passent respectivement en revue l’examen, la contrition et le ferme propos, la confession et la pénitence." (Pfister, p. 132, no. 5).
Cf. Courant 7259–7266; BR, p. XXXIII; Couplet, p. 16.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p.129-130

Full text of the Vatican edition [Borg. Cin. 381 (3)] of: Dizui zhenggui lüe 滌罪正規略 available online at Hong Kong Catholic Diocese Archive (HKCDA) website.

Forgive us our sins : Confession in late Ming and early Qing China / edited by Nicolas Standaert and Ad Dudink.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [241]-257) and index.
Contents: Deliver us from evil : confession and salvation in seventeenth and eighteenth-century Chinese Catholicism / Eugenio Menegon -- Buddhist chanhui and Christian confession in seventeenth-century China / Erik Zürcher -- Illuminating the shades of sin : the Society of Jesus and confession in seventeenth-century China / Liam Matthew Brockey -- A missionary confessional manual : José Monteiro's Vera et Unica Praxis breviter ediscendi, ac expeditissime loquendi Sinicum idioma / Liam Matthew Brockey and Ad Dudink.

Includes: José Monteiro, Vera et unica praxis breviter ediscendi, ac expeditissime loquendi sinicum idioma [ff. 61-79]: Confissionario ; Shengjiao yaojin de daoli 聖教要緊的道禮 (i.e. 理). Ms. BnF, Chinois 7046-I. Illustrated pages from "The Last Four Things" [Simo zhenlun 四末真論 (1676) BAV: Borg. cin. 345.7] of Philippe Couplet. Comparison of Aleni’s Dizui zhenggui lüe 滌罪正規略 and Dizui zhenggui 滌罪正規. Texts: Confiteor [Jiezuijing 解罪經] and Act of Contrition [Huizuijing 悔罪經]. Four essentials of Confession [Gaojie siyao 告解四要].

"Confession in early modern Europe has been the subject of several studies. But what happened to the confessional practice when it moved to other cultures? This is the major research question of the present book as applied to late Ming and early Qing China. The origin of this research can be traced back to the Handbook of Christianity in China: Volume One (635-1800) (Leiden 2000) compiled by researchers of the K.U. Leuven, in collaboration with an international team of circa twenty scholars. As a reference work, the Handbook comprehensively presents many different aspects of Christianity in China, including sciences, arts and crafts. But there was one major absentee: ritual, which is often considered essential for understanding China. A first step in filling the gap was the organisation of an international workshop on 'Chinese and Christian Rituality in Late Imperial China' (Leuven, June 2004). The present volume includes the revised contributions by Eugenio Menegon and Erik Zürcher and a reworked version of an article by Liam Brockey as well as the edition of the primary source he used for his article, a confessional manual composed by José Monteiro S.J. (1646-1720). These articles portray from different angles one of the sacramental rituals, viz. that of confession"--Introd.

JapSin II, 48
Gaojie yuanyi 告解原義.
By Nan Huairen 南懷仁 (Ferdinand Verbiest).
One juan. Bamboo paper, bound in European style. No date or place of publication.

The cover bears a label with the title and a Latin inscription: “Sacramenti paeniten | tiae rationes | a p. Ferdin. Verbiest | S.J.”

Cf. Pfister, p. 353, no. 2; Courant 7272, 7273, 7274. Couplet, p. 41.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 352.

JapSin II, 48 D
Gaojie yuanyi 告解原義.
By Nan Huairen 南懷仁 (Ferdinand Verbiest).

This book is an exact duplicate of Jap-Sin II 48.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 352.

[二卷] / Ai Rulue shu 艾儒畧述.
Treatise dealing with the sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist. “In his Misa jiyi Aleni had developed (supposedly on European models) an allegorical explanation of the successive parts of the Mass, which symbolically represented the mysteries of Jesus’ life from his Incarnation to the Last Judgement.”--Cf. Standaert, Handbook of Christianity in China, v. 1, pp. 624-625.

Citation: Albert Chan, S.J. Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 127.

JapSin I, 75
Mi-sa chi-i [Misa jiyi] 彌撒祭義
By Ai Ju-lüeh (Ai Rulüe 艾儒略, Giulio Aleni, 1582–1649).
Two juan. Chinese bamboo paper in one volume. Printed by the Catholic Church of Fuzhou 福州 (Fukien). No date of publication (preface of 1629).

The cover bears a label with the title and a Latin inscription: “Sacrifici Missae explicatio a p. Julio Aleni, S.J.”

The center of the title page gives the title with the name of author on the right and the place of publication on the left. The verso of this folio gives the author’s name together with the names of the censors: Shih Pai-tu (Shi Baidu 史百度), Fei Ch’i-kuei (Fei Qigui 費奇規, Gaspar Ferreira) and Fei Lo-te (Fei Lede 費樂德, Rui de Figueiredo). The name Shih Pai-tu does not appear in Pfister. Among the Jesuits in China in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the only one bearing the family name Shih was Pierre Van Spiere (De Spira), who died in 1628. His Chinese name was Shih Wei-chen (Shi Wezhen 史維貞, zi Yilan 一覽). Since he was a fellow missioner of Aleni and a fellow prisoner with him in Canton in 1611, it is very probable that he was the man. Like Vagnone and Semedo he may have had a different Chinese name before and after the Nanking persecution (1616), cf. Pfister, pp. 147–149.
Juan A consists of a preface (six folios), a table of contents (one folio) and the main text (thirty-two folios). Juan B contains a general introduction (one folio), a table of contents (two and one-half folios) and the main text (thirty folios). Juan A is a general introduction to the Mass and juan B deals with the liturgy of the Mass. The preface of Aleni is dated 1629 (Chongzhen 2). At the end there are three seals: Yesuhuishi 耶穌會士, one with the emblem of the Society of Jesus and another of the Ching-chiao t’ang [Jingjiaotang yin 景教堂印 ]. Cf. Pfister, p. 132; Courant 7277–7281.

For more bibliographical information about this text, see:

CCT-Chinese Christian Text Database

JapSin I, 95
Shanzhong yiying lidian 善終瘞塋禮典.
Translated by Li Leisi 李類思 (Lodovico Buglio).
One juan. Chinese bamboo paper in one volume. No date or place of publication.

The cover bears the title with a Latin inscription: “Ritus pro moribundo et sepultura ex rituali romano a p. Lud. Buglio, S.J.”
There is another inscription in Léon Wieger’s handwriting: “Patris Bugli Libellus -- Praxis juvandi moribundos qui fere omnes . . . (?) (sine capita sacerdotis) et sepeliendi mortuos -- Libellus Defunctorum quo decantant adhuc nunc.”

Cf. Pfister, p. 240, no. 7; Courant 7401–7404; Couplet, p. 29 (Commendatio animae & Officium sepultae).
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 147-148.

JapSin I, 112
Shanzhong zhugong guili 善終助功規例.
By Fu Ruowang 伏若望 (João Fróis, 1591–1638).
One juan. Chinese bamboo paper in one volume. No date or place of publication.

The cover bears the title Tianzhong zhugong 天終助功 and a Latin inscription: “Methodus adiuvandi | moribundos | a p. Joanne Froes, S.J.”

The frontispiece bears the emblem of the Society of Jesus. The back of this folio gives the title together with the name of the author and those of the censors: Yang Manuo 陽馬諾 (Manuel Dias Jr.), Guo Jujing 郭居靜 (Lazzaro Cattaneo) and Li Ningshi 黎寧石 (Pedro Ribeiro, 1570–1640). Permission for publication was granted by Fu Fanji 傅汎際 (Francisco Furtado).
There are ninety-six folios in the entire book, which starts with an introduction by the author (three folios). Each half folio consists of six divisions; each division has two columns with eleven characters in each column. The prayers are given in large characters while the explanations of the rituals are given in small characters. The upper middle of each folio bears the title Shanzhong zhugong 善終助功. The number of each folio is given below the fish-tail. This book is designed to help in preparing the dying for a happy death. The material is mostly taken from the Rituale Romanum. Pfister (p. 187) does not seem to mention this book. He attributes three works to Fróis:

1. Zhu shanzhong jing 助善終經 (Prayers to help toward a good death).
2. Wushang jing li guicheng 五傷經禮規程 (The method of venerating the five wounds of Our Lord).
3. Ku'nan daowen 苦難禱文 (Litanies of the Passion).

He then adds under number 4: “Le P. Sotwel cite encore: De adjuvandis christianis morti proximis; en chinois: 善終助功 Chan tchong tchou kong, Méthode pour assister les mourants, qui semble se confondre avec l’ouvrage n^o l, Bibl. Nat., 1 vol., nouv. fonds chinois, 2768. (Cordier, L’Imprimerie, p. 25).”
We do not doubt that these two books, Shanzhong zhugong (guili) and Zhu shanzhongjing are one and the same (cf. BR, p. XXXV: librum de juvandis illis qui sunt in articulo mortis, cui titulus Xen chung cu cung); they were given different titles and this caused confusion.

Cf. Courant 7350 (without title, 96 folios, Nouveau fonds 2768), 7351, 7352; Couplet, p. 22; Jap-Sin I, 186.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 161-162.

Shanzhong zhugong guili 善終助功規例 / [Fu Ruowang zhu 伏若望著].
OCLC record and series table of contents substitute 諸 for 助.

JapSin I, 186
Shanzhong zhugong guili 善終助功規例
By Fu Ruowang 伏若望 (João Fróis, 1591–1638).
One juan. Bamboo paper in one volume.
Reprinted by the Yuedantang 曰旦堂at Jianwu 建武 (Jianchang 建昌, Jiangxi).
No date of publication.

Wieger’s catalogue (WH) mistakenly gives Furtado as the author of this book.

The frontispiece bears the emblem of the Society of Jesus. The verso of this folio gives the title of the book and the name of the author. There were three censors of the book: Manuel Dias Jr. 陽瑪諾, Lazzaro Cattaneo 郭居靜 and Pedro Ribeiro 黎寧石. The imprimatur was given by Francisco Furtado, then Vice-Provincial.
There is an introduction on a happy death (two folios). The main text consists of forty-nine folios. There are seven columns in each half folio with fifteen characters in each column. The middle of each folio bears the title: Shanzhong zhugong 善終助功; the number of the folio is given below. At the end of the last folio there is an inscription, which gives the place of publication: 建武曰旦堂重梓.
The purpose of this book is given in the introduction, which states that to be good while living in this world is a difficult task, and that it is even more difficult to obtain a good death at the moment of leaving this world. It then goes on to say that a good death is founded on leading a good life. Once the relevance of this truth is realized one should not shrink from doing good while there is still time. What comes after is unknown to us. The last moment when one is on one’s deathbed is the most difficult hour of one’s life. There is great need for somebody to assist the dying man that he may have a happy death. The method given in this book serves as a help in doing this.
Cf. Jap-Sin I, 112.

Source: Albert Chan, Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 248.

Full bibliographical details see: Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database)

Shengjiao yuanliu 聖教源流 [Jap-Sin I, 142] / Zhu Yupo 朱毓朴.
In: Yesuhui Luoma dang'anguan Ming-Qing Tianzhujiao wenxian 耶穌會羅馬檔案館明清天主教文獻 / Edited by Nicolas Standaert [鐘鳴旦] [and] Adrian Dudink [杜鼎克].

"Joseph Zhu Yupu (Yupo) ... prepared Shengjiao yuanliu, a report of Rui de Figueiredo (1594-1642) on catechesation in Kaifeng in 1636"--Cf. Standaert, Handbook of Christianity in China, p. 438.
"Catechisms virtually always contained a list of the seven sacraments (baptism, confirmation, confession, eucharist and communion, marriage, priesthood, and extreme unction), sometimes followed by short explanations. note 37: An exception is Shengjiao yuanliu (1636), a catechism in colloquial language dictated by Rui (Rodrigo) de Figueiredo, SJ, to a catechist, which contains detailed information on the sacraments and on related daily practices (as prescribed by the missionaries). See BNF Chinois 6882-6883 and ARSI Jap.Sin. I, 142; the part on the seven sacraments covers seven juan (in all, 79 folios)--Cf. Handbook of Christianity in China, p. 624.

Jap-Sin I, 142
Shengjiao yuanliu 聖教源流.
By Zhu Yupu朱毓朴.
Originally in four volumes, but now bound in only two. The volumes are not in the right order. Chinese bamboo paper.
No date or place of publication.

The cover bears the title of the book in ink together with the author’s name: 朱毓朴若瑟撰 (Written by Joseph Zhu Yupu). The Latin inscription reads: "Xim kiao yuen lieu | S^ae Legis ortus & progressus | Auctore videtur ex familia Chu Io po. Nomen Joseph | Videtur Catechismus."

There is a preface by the author (one folio), dated 1635 (Chongzhen 8). There is a folio before the preface with an inscription in ink that reads: . . . 年九月初七日雨窗刪改 (Corrections made on the seventh day of the ninth month of the . . . year beside the window while it was raining). The directions for the readers consist of one folio and the table of contents of two folios.
The first volume (volumes one and two of the original work) begins with juan 1–7 and contains the folios 5–103 (Arabic numbers). The second volume (volumes three and four of the original work) begins with juan 8–9 (there are only two folios in juan 9) and then repeats juan 1–6; it contains the folios 104–192 (Arabic numbers).
There are nine columns in each half folio. The first column of each paragraph has twenty characters and the rest of the paragraph eighteen. The upper middle of each folio bears the title of the book; below the fish tail are given the number of the folio and the title of the chapter. Arabic numbers are given below it.
Each juan bears the title of the book on the first folio, with the author’s name: 周國宗姓朱毓朴 | 教號若瑟錄梓 (Recorded and published by Zhu Yupu, whose Christian name is Joseph, of Imperial descent in the state of Zhou). There is a red seal in seal characters on folio 1 of the first volumes, which reads: 天學罪人 (A sinner of the Catholic church). The book is thoroughly punctuated with a good number of corrections and comments on the top margins of the folios. From the title of the book one may easily conjecture that it is a history of the church. In reality it is only a catechism.
Although the authorship of the book is attributed to Zhu Yupu, in his preface Zhu makes it clear that he merely recorded what was dictated to him by a missioner. He was a friend of the Western missioner and a seeker after perfection. Accordingly he explains in detail how God created heaven, earth and man, how the incarnation took place and how the Apostles were called (by Christ). The account was recorded and published by him so that his fellow catechumens might use it for their instruction.
According to Courant (no. 6882) and Pfister (p. 160, no. 1) the real author of this book was Rui de Figueiredo. The second paragraph of the directions for the readers says that originally the book was not meant to be written; rather it was a dialogue between the writer and the master (whom he does not mention explicitly by name). The writer also points out that it was decided to use the vernacular instead of classical Chinese, because the former would be understood more easily by the common people. The fourteenth paragraph of the directions to the readers tells us that "this book, written by me, is quite different from the books written in Western languages. These are polished whereas this book [of mine] contains nothing but the language of the common people. There are many books in the Western languages in the church, but I have not copied anything from them; and if I have borrowed some of their ideas, I have done so only after purging them of their flowery expressions and I have kept them as natural as possible." Again, in the fifth paragraph the author remarks that the book was started in the tenth month of the eighth year of the Chongzhen reign (1635) and was finished in the seventh month of the following year, a period of over nine months. He admits that the work was difficult and finally that it was done with the advice of the master. This makes us think that perhaps the book was dictated by Rui de Figueiredo and taken down by Zhu Yupu, who wrote in the simple language of the people and for their instruction. Zhu’s book, being written by a descendant of the imperial family, would no doubt exert more influence on the people than one written by a missioner.
This book explains the teaching of the Catholic church in great detail. The examples to illustrate it are adapted to the daily life of the common people. Take the section on the Seventh Commandment, for instance. It deals with the problems of business transaction, of card games and other forms of gambling. The book also reveals a number of the religious practices of the church at the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing dynasties. So when the text deals with the way of going to confession, it says: "When the priest is asked to hear a confession and when he is seated, [the penitent] should kneel by his side and take off his hat, and make a kow tow. He then makes the sign of the cross, recites the prayer . . . He should acknowledge his sins with a sincere heart for absolution, as if he were a criminal before the magistrate in the yamen (vol. 2, juan 4, f. 4r) . . . [when one manifests one’s sins,] one should observe the rule, namely, one must first mention one’s Chinese name as well as one’s Christian name" (f. 8v). In connection with the first of the minor orders, that of porter, the text remarks: "According to the rule, when there are ceremonies in the church, he who desires to become a Catholic is permitted, after receiving the Holy Scriptures, to come for instruction, but he is not allowed to attend Mass, [i.e.] to look at the holy body of Jesus. When the priest is saying Mass and before he comes to the elevation of the host, the porter should notify the catechumen that he is to retire" (vol. 2, juan 6, f. 4r). At the end of the book there is a postscript that reads:

We are travellers in this world. Let us, therefore, look for a clean room in our lodging place. When we die, we are going home. Let us, therefore, look for a wide and plain road. Let us not sow thorny bushes along our ways. Let us furnish our rooms with the lute and sword and be vigilant against the seven [capital] sins. At all times we should be wary of our three enemies. Never should we be confused between the truth and falsehood, true happiness and apparent happiness. The four principles that we have laid down should serve as the fare that we need for our journey home and the miscellaneous subdivisions as rent for our living quarters. Keep to your reason and suppress your [inordinate] desires that you may be saved from the gate of hell. Follow the source [of happiness], that you may find the path to Heaven. Behold, this is the postscript with the scanty words that I wish to convey to my like minded friends.

Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 186-189.

Full bibliographic citation see: Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database).

JapSin I, 161
Shengshi lidian 聖事禮典.
By Li Leisi 利類思 (Lodovico Buglio).
One juan. White Chinese paper. Bound in one volume, European style. Published in 1675 (Kangxi 14).

On the back of the cover there is an inscription in French: “Deux exemplaires du Rituel en chinois, pour les prêtres chinois dispensés du latin.” The frontispiece has a Latin inscription: “MANUALE | AD | SACRAMEN | TA | ministranda | iuxta ritum | s. ROM–ECC. | sinice redditum | A Ludovico Buglio | Soc. Iesu | Pekim | in Colleg. eiusd. Soc. An. 1675.”

Shengshi lidian 聖事禮典 [JapSin I-161a] Buglio, Lodovico 利類思 JapSin I, 161a
Shengshi lidian 聖事禮典.
By Li Leisi 利類思 (Lodovico Buglio).
One juan. Chinese bamboo paper in two volumes.

The format of this book is the same as that of Jap-Sin I, 161, except for the different quality of paper.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 212.

JapSin II, 49
Shengti dayi 聖體答疑.
By Nan Huairen 南懷仁 (Ferdinand Verbiest).
One juan. Bamboo paper bound in European style. No date or place of publication.

The cover bears the title in Chinese (only the first character 聖 is printed and the other three characters are written in black ink) and a Latin inscription: “Solutio objectionum | circa Eucharistiam | a p. Ferdin. Verbiest.”

Cf. Pfister, p. 353, no. 3; Courant 7290; Couplet, p. 42 (Responsa ad dubia de Eucharistia).
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 352-353.

Full bibliographic citation see: Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database)

JapSin I, 78
Shengti yaoli 聖體要理.
By Ai Rulüe 艾儒略 (Giulio Aleni).
Two juan. Chinese bamboo paper in one volume. Published in 1644 (Chongzhen jiashen 甲申) by the Catholic church of Fuzhou (Fujian).

The cover bears the title in Chinese and a Latin inscription: “Compendiale sacramenti Eucharistiae ac S. Communionis explicatio, a.p. Julio Aleni, S.J.”

Cf. Courant 7284–7287; Pfister, p. 134, no. 15; Hsü 1949, p. 179.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 129.

JapSin I, 102
Simo zhenlun 四末真論.
By Bo Yingli 柏應理 (Philippe Couplet, 1622–1693).
One juan. Chinese bamboo paper in one volume. Published by the Jingyitang 敬一堂 of Yunjian 雲間 (Jiangsu) in 1675 (Kangxi 14).

The title given on the cover is Simolun 四末論. There is a Latin inscription that reads: “De quatuor | Novissimis a p. Philippo | Couplet SJ.”

The text consists of twenty-six folios and deals with the four last things, namely death, judgement, heaven, and hell. It is divided into four parts, each accompanied by an illustration and a saying from one of the saints of the church. The Jingyitang is the oldest Catholic church in Shanghai. Originally the residence of a government minister, it was bought in 1640 by Francesco Brancati with the help of Martina Xu, the fourth grand-daughter of Xu Guangqi. It was known in later days as the lao tianzhutang 老天主堂 or simply “laotang (JWC 2:56–59).”
Cf. Courant 6968–6971; Pfister, p. 310, no. 4 (mistakenly calling it a Peking edition); Couplet, p. 39; JWC 2:181–182.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 153-154.

Zhenxin zongdu 振心總牘, JapSin I, 174.6 / Gaspar Ferreira 費奇規 (misattribution to Rui de Figueiredo, see below)
In: Yesuhui Luoma dang'anguan Ming-Qing Tianzhujiao wenxian 耶穌會羅馬檔案館明清天主教文獻 / Edited by Nicolas Standaert [鐘鳴旦] [and] Adrian Dudink [杜鼎克]. 

Jap-Sin I, 174.6
Zhenxin zongdu 振心總牘
By Fei Qigui 費奇規 (Gaspar Ferreira, 1571–1649).
One juan. Bamboo paper in one volume. No date or place of publication.

The cover bears a label with the title and a Latin inscription: “Variae orationes ac | preces piae | a p. Roderico | Figueiredo, S.J.”

The recto of folio 1 gives the title and the author’s name: 大西耶穌會士費奇規譯述. There are eight columns in each half folio with sixteen characters in each column. The abbreviated title Zhenxin 振心 is given in the middle of each folio with the number of the folio below. The book was published after Ferreira’s death. Wieger’s catalogue (WH) erroneously attributes the authorship to Rui de Figueiredo (Fei Lede 費樂德).
The preface states that the first few chapters in this collection of prayers give the method of praying, orally or mentally. This can be done at one time or at diverse moments. However, it is necessary to pray slowly and attentively so as to foster one’s devotion and to obtain a better taste for spiritual things, which are the food of the soul. The prayers collected in this book are classified into prayers of thanksgiving, of petition, of the love of God, of praise to God. They are to help the faithful to devote themselves to the service of the Lord.
It is entertaining to read in folio 43a the phrase: 捄若納於鱷魚之腹 (to save Jonas from the belly of the crocodile)!
Cf. Pfister, p. 80, no. 3; Hsü 1949, p. 35; Courant 7380, 7381; Couplet, p. 11.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 240-241.

Moxiang guiju 默想規矩 ascribed to Andrea-Giovanni Lubelli (repr. 1676) "but only in a slightly different edition..." --Cf. the confusing footnote 41 (p. 625) in Handbook of Christianity in China.

Giulio Aleni 艾儒略, Tianzhu jiangsheng chuxiang jingjie 天主降生出象經解 (1637), JapSin I, 187. “Supplement” to Aleni’s Tianzhu jiangsheng yanxing jilüe 天主降生言行紀略 (1635). “This work of fifty-five pictures of Jesus’ life was based on Jerónimo Nadal’s (1507-1580) Evangelicae Historiae Imagines (Antwerp, 1593). which was often included in Nadal’s Adnotationes et Meditationes in Evangeliae (Antwerp, 1595), a meditative commentary on the Sunday readings by a famous companion of Ignatius of Loyola. Aleni’s work, however, is not a translation of Nadal’s commentary, but a Chinese adaptation of Vita Christi by Ludolphus de Saxonia (ca. 1300-1378).--Cf. Standaert, Handbook, p. 623.

“ .... this extensive sinicisation of da Rocha’s pictures .... contrast with the second collection of Christian woodblock prints: the 55 pictures - all based on Nadal - in Tianzhu jiangsheng chuxiang jingjie 天主降生出象經解 (Illustrated Explanation of the Lord of Heaven’s Incarnation), first published in 1637 in Jinjiang (Quanzhou) by ... Aleni. The difference in style and execution is quite marked: in Aleni’s xylographs the European linear perspective and the narrative combination of main and secondary scenes have been maintained, and sometimes even hatching is used to suggest volume. There are some interesting Chinese adaptations as regards form (e.g. in rendering rocks and vegetation) and content (in one case by adding a group of Chinese devotees), but as a whole these woodblock prints render the Western originals faithfully. It may well have been that this reflects the local situation, for the coastal region of Fujian had long been exposed to influence from abroad, and that may have enabled Aleni’s converts to appreciate these foreign pictures in an undigested form. Aleni’s work was reprinted several times and may have had a wide circulation.” --Cf. Handbook of Christianity in China, p. 813.