Confucianism and Catholicism

Description

Confucianism and Catholicism, among the most influential religious traditions, share an intricate relationship. Beginning with the work of Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), the nature of this relationship has generated great debate. These ten essays synthesize in a single volume this historic conversation. Written by specialists in both traditions, the essays are organized into two groups. Those in the first group focus primarily on the historical and cultural contexts in which Confucianism and Catholicism encountered one another in the four major Confucian cultures of East Asia: China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. The essays in the second part offer comparative and constructive studies of specific figures, texts, and issues in the Confucian and Catholic traditions from both theological and philosophical perspectives. By bringing these historical and constructive perspectives together, Confucianism and Catholicism: Reinvigorating the Dialogue seeks not only to understand better the past dialogue between these traditions, but also to renew the conversation between them today.

In light of the unprecedented expansion of Eastern Asian influence in recent decades, and considering the myriad of challenges and new opportunities faced by both the Confucian and Catholic traditions in a world that is rapidly becoming globalized, this volume could not be more timely. Confucianism and Catholicism will be of interest to professional theologians, historians, and scholars of religion, as well as those who work in interreligious dialogue.

Contributors: Michael R. Slater, Erin M. Cline, Philip J. Ivanhoe, Vincent Shen, Anh Q. Tran, S.J., Donald L. Baker, Kevin M. Doak, Xueying Wang, Richard Kim, Victoria S. Harrison, and Lee H. Yearley.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Comparative Religion
• Philosophie et théologie
• East?West dichotomy
• Philosophy
• Catholic
• Confucianism
• Chinese
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 31 mai 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268107710
• Langue: English

Extrait

Confucianism and Catholicism
CONFUCIANISM AND CATHOLICISM

Reinvigorating the Dialogue
Edited by
MICHAEL R. SLATER, ERIN M. CLINE, AND PHILIP J. IVANHOE
University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2020 by the University of Notre Dame
Published in the United States of America
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020932823
ISBN: 978-0-268-10769-7 (Hardback)
ISBN: 978-0-268-10772-7 (WebPDF)
ISBN: 978-0-268-10771-0 (Epub)
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at [e-mail]
Each person cannot fully complete every task, for which reason the Lord on High commanded that there be friendship in order that we might render aid to one another. If this Way were eradicated from the world, humankind would surely disintegrate into ruin.
— Matteo Ricci, On Friendship , maxim 16 (Translation by Timothy Billings, Columbia University Press, 2009)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Reinvigorating the Dialogue between Confucianism and Catholicism
P ART 1. H ISTORICAL C ONTEXTS : C HINA , V IETNAM , K OREA, AND J APAN
ONE The Aristotelian Concept of Substance Introduced by Early Jesuit Missionaries to China and Its Problems in Encountering Confucianism Vincent Shen
TWO When Christian Devotion Meets Confucian Piety: The Teaching of the “Three Fatherhoods” in Premodern Vietnam Anh Q. Tran, S.J.
THREE The Zhongyong through a Theistic Lens: Tasan Chŏng Yagyong on How to Be Moral Donald L. Baker
FOUR Confucianism and Catholicism in Mid-Twentieth- Century Japan Kevin M. Doak

P ART 2. C OMPARATIVE T HEOLOGY AND P HILOSOPHY
FIVE Mengzi, Xunzi, Augustine, and John Chrysostom on Childhood Moral Cultivation Xueying Wang
SIX Natural Law in Mencius and Aquinas Richard Kim
SEVEN Reimagining Confucianism with Ignatius of Loyola Erin M. Cline
EIGHT “Exemplar Reasoning” as a Tool for Constructive Conversation between Confucians and Catholics Victoria S. Harrison
NINE Understandings of Human Failures to Flourish in Catholicism and Confucianism Lee H. Yearley
TEN Concluding Reflections: Confucian and Catholic Conceptions of the Virtues Philip J. Ivanhoe
Contributors
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The inspiration for this volume of essays came out of the many fruitful conversations that took place at the International Conference on Confucianism and Catholicism: Reinvigorating the Dialogue, which was held at Georgetown University on March 4–5, 2016. We would like to thank all of the presenters at that conference, as well as all those who participated in and supported it, for helping to make it such a remarkable success. We also wish to express our gratitude to our editor at the University of Notre Dame Press, Stephen Little; to two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful feedback on the manuscript; and to Mark Mir and the Ricci Institute at the University of San Francisco for permission to use the cover image on this book. Finally, we are honored to be able to include one of the last essays published by our esteemed colleague, Vincent Shen, who passed away suddenly while this book was in production. Vincent devoted much of his academic career to bridging intellectual divides—between Western and Chinese philosophy, and between the Christian and Confucian traditions—and was a warm and generous colleague. He will be missed.
INTRODUCTION
Reinvigorating the Dialogue between Confucianism and Catholicism
M ICHAEL R. S LATER , E RIN M. C LINE, AND P HILIP J. I VANHOE
Confucianism and Catholicism are among the oldest and most influential religious traditions on earth; they have a long and intricate interrelationship and deeply shared beliefs, orientations, styles, and affinities. Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) began a long and at times heated debate about the nature of Confucianism and its relationship to Catholicism, which is still alive today, informing and inspiring those interested in these two grand traditions and more generally the issues they focus on and defend. Arguably, Ricci’s most important contribution to understanding the relationship between Confucianism and Catholicism was his view that Confucianism is a form of deism and an expression of natural religion. In his opinion, the Chinese people had always implicitly believed in God, and Catholicism offered them the complete and perfect expression of this long-standing faith. Ricci’s interreligious dialogue with Confucians was, of course, motivated by his desire to convert them—and the Chinese people more broadly—to Christianity, but it was also informed by the assumption that the Confucian and Catholic traditions were compatible with one another at a fundamental level, notwithstanding their many important differences. Contemporary scholars of Confucianism are sharply divided as to the religious nature of early and later Confucianism, with some seeing Ricci as on the right track but others seeing the tradition as a wholly “this-worldly” form of life. 1 The latter view seems to have originated with Max Weber (1864–1920) in the early twentieth century but has a number of prominent contemporary proponents. 2 This one issue alone offers sufficient warrant for a renewed focus on the relationship between Confucianism and Catholicism, but the justification of and motivation for such a reinvigorated dialogue do not, by any means, end there.
Confucianism and Catholicism are each supported by three pillars of thought and practice. The first is the tradition of commentary that both have generated. Not uniquely but characteristically, Confucianism and Catholicism have inspired philosophical traditions that, in large measure, revive and reinvent themselves through a process of interpreting and extending the meaning and significance of a set of classic texts with scriptural authority. 3 This, in turn, accords past commentators a status and authority not found in most other traditions and influences contemporary members to think of themselves in terms of their place in this ongoing process of understanding, orienting them to the goal that Kongzi (Confucius) described as wen gu er zhi xin 溫故而知新, “reanimating the old in order to understand the new.” 4 Second, both Catholics and Confucians accord a central place to ritual practice as a means of connecting with the sacred, expressing the significant, and shaping the self. 5 Behind such exercises are deep and complex beliefs about the limits of theory and understanding and the need to engage the physical and emotional as well as the intellectual aspects of the self in spiritual practice. Third and finally, both traditions have developed rich and complex views about the need for and proper forms of self-cultivation. 6 The underlying shared assumption here is that the process of working toward spiritual fulfillment only begins with a commitment to undertake it and is realized only in the course of a lifetime of effort and reflection. All three of these characteristics of Confucianism and Catholicism as well as the ongoing debate about the religious nature of the Confucian tradition offer challenging and profound opportunities for comparison, contrast, and mutual enrichment. In addition to their past connections and intellectual affinities, the current moment in history is witnessing a revived interest in both Confucianism and Catholicism within China, offering a third and decisive reason to embark upon a careful, sustained, and in-depth effort to reinvigorate the dialogue between these venerable traditions. 7 These are the guiding motivations for this volume.
The ten essays that constitute this volume were written by several of the world’s leading scholars, at various stages of their scholarly careers, on Confucian and Catholic thought and the relationship between them. We sought to find a tripartite mix of Confucian scholars interested but not experts in Catholicism, Catholic scholars interested but not experts in Confucianism, and scholars who specialize in comparing and contrasting these and other traditions. In this way we believe our anthology attains a greater depth of analysis, will have a broader and more significant impact, and represents the kind of broad dialogue and debate that we hope to engender and encourage.
O VERVIEW OF C HAPTERS
The essays in this volume are organized into two groups: those that primarily focus on the historical and cultural contexts in which Confucianism and Catholicism have encountered one another in the four major Confucian cultures of East Asia—China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan—and that seek to understand specific figures, texts, and issues in the light of those broader contexts; and those that offer comparative and constructive theological or philosophical studies of specific figures, texts, and issues in the Confucian and Catholic traditions.
In the first chapter, “The Aristotelian Concept of Substance Introduced by Early Jesuit Missionaries to China and Its Problems in Encountering Confucianism,” Vincent Shen examines the early Jesuit missionaries’ use of Aristotelian and Thomistic philosophical categories to interpret Confucianism and argues that this decision on their part created an obstacle to dialogue between the Confucian and Catholic traditions. Shen begins by discussing how early Jesuit missionaries inaugurated a “two-way exchange of ideas” between Western Europe and China, introducing Western philosophical works and ideas to China and Chinese philosophical works and ideas to the West. He proceeds to consider their attempts to create a “harmonious synthesis” between Aristotelian (and Thomistic) philosophy and Confucianism and their motivations for doing so, which were complex but fundamentally driven by their missionary aims. Focusing primarily on the Aristotelian concept of substance ( ousia ), Shen chronicles the histor