Non-Elite Chinese Catholic Converts' Formation of Pragmatic Identity in the Course of Religious Interactions

A New Analysis of a 17th Century Manuscript Bingyin huike 丙寅會課 (Teaching Sessions in 1686)

Bibliographic Data

ID3122009
AuthorsZhenxu Fan (John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume16
Issue6
Pages798
Publication date2025-06-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel16060798
OpenAlexW4411415221
LanguageEN
References cited18

Through a critical analysis of one section of a 17th century Chinese manuscript, this article examines the formation of pragmatic identity of non-elite Roman Catholic Chinese converts, who simultaneously identified themselves as Confucians and Catholics within the culture of "Three Teachings synthesized into one system" (sanjiao heyi 三教合一) in traditional Chinese society. This investigation explores how these converts formed their pragmatic identity during their adaptation of Catholic beliefs and practices into a complex and dynamic context of interreligious interactions. The texts under examination are two essays in the Bian chizhai (辨持齋, Debating on Fasting) section in the Bingyin huike (丙寅會課, Teaching Sessions in 1686), composed in a Chinese Catholic seminarian community established and administered by Jesuit missionaries in Nanjing (南京). This interdisciplinary study not only provides a critical examination of the manuscript, which has not yet been extensively researched, but also offers a novel understanding of non-elite converts' identity formation through the lens of pragmatic identity theory, drawing inspiration from American Pragmatism. It contributes to our contemporary understanding of non-elite Chinese Christian converts' quest for identity amidst intercultural interactions between mainstream and marginal religions in 17th century Qing China

Aesthetics · China · Elite · Epistemology · Mainstream · Political science · Pragmatism · Sociology · Theology · Chinese history and philosophy · Gender Studies · History · Law · Multicultural Socio-Legal Studies · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity

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