Finding God’s Chinese name: A comparison of the approaches of Matteo Ricci and James Legge

Alexander Chow

doi:10.1163/9789004461789_012

Finding God’s Chinese name: A comparison of the approaches of Matteo Ricci and James Legge

Alexander Chow

School of Divinity

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Abstract

This essay will explore the so-called “term question” associated with major attempts at providing a Chinese rendering of the name of God. It will focus on two foundational missionary-scholars to China, Matteo Ricci and James Legge, and examine the different philosophical and theological contexts that ultimately resulted in the same conclusion – that is, to identify an equivalence between the Christian God and the ancient Chinese understanding of Shangdi 上帝 (“Lord on high”). This essay will also suggest that, for James Legge, this conviction offered a major rationale for producing English translations of Chinese philosophical and religious works: his monumental Chinese Classics.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Scottish Missions to China
Subtitle of host publication	Commemorating the Legacy of James Legge (1815-1897)
Editors	Alexander Chow
Publisher	Brill Academic Publishers
Chapter	10
Pages	213-228
ISBN (Electronic)	9789004461789
ISBN (Print)	9789004509634
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004461789_012
Publication status	Published - 19 May 2022

Publication series

Name	Theology and Mission in World Christianity
Volume	23
ISSN (Print)	2452-2953

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10.1163/9789004461789_012

Cite this

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Finding God’s Chinese name: A comparison of the approaches of Matteo Ricci and James Legge. / Chow, Alexander.
Scottish Missions to China: Commemorating the Legacy of James Legge (1815-1897). ed. / Alexander Chow. Brill Academic Publishers, 2022. p. 213-228 (Theology and Mission in World Christianity; Vol. 23).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

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Finding God’s Chinese name: A comparison of the approaches of Matteo Ricci and James Legge

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Scottish Missions to China: Commemorating the Legacy of James Legge (1815-1897)

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