Introduction and Re-writing of Aristotle’s De Anima by Early Jesuits in China

Abstract

This paper explores the historical and philosophical context and meaning of the introduction of Aristotle’s philosophy, in particular, his theory of soul by way of translation in the manner of rewriting by the early Jesuits in China. By way of introducing Aristotle’s person and rewriting his text, the early Jesuits in China and their Chinese followers have allowed Aristotle and his theory of soul to migrate to China and be absorbed gradually into the Chinese context. This is illustrated in this paper by the rewriting of Aristotle’s De Anima and its adoption by early Chinese Christians. The effort in bringing Aristotle’s De Anima and Chinese theory of human nature into an early form of synthesis in Aleni’s Xingxue Cushu, Sambiasci’s Lingyan Lishao and Xia Dachang’s Xingshuo should not be unfairly neglected in the history of Chinese philosophy. Their contribution to the meeting of western philosophy and Chinese Philosophy is indeed a big event in the history of world philosophy. We will examine also the negative sides of the introduction of Aristotle, in particular his concept of substance, and the Jesuit’ understanding of ethics based on their interpretation of Aristotelian theory of soul, that had given a hindrance to a deeper understanding of some basic ideas in Chinese philosophy and communicate in a better terms with Daoism and Buddhism. Without any intention to accuse any error committed in the past, this paper intends to be a critical self-understanding of the historical process of meeting Asian and Western philosophical traditions, in view of a more fruitful philosophical and religious dialogue between them. However, there is no justifiable pretext of neglecting the historical importance of Jesuits’ introduction of Aristotle’s philosophy, in particular his theory of soul, into China and East Asia. After a brief introduction related to the rehabilitation of Jesuit’s merit in East Asian philosophy, this paper will discuss the Jesuits’introduction of Aristotle to China and its reasons of doing it. Then it will proceed to examine different projects of translation/ rewriting Aristotle’s De Anima in Aleni’ Xingxue Cushu, Sambiasci’s Lingyan Lishao and their impact on an early Chinese Christian Xia Dachang’s Xingshuo, and examine Jesuits Platonic Ethics based on their re-interpreting Aristotle’s Body-Mind relation, and it’s impact on the Chinese Christian thought at that time, before we can come up to some concluding remarks.