Universalismos en disputa y convergencia: jesuitas, letrados y los primeros relatos en China sobre el “descubrimiento” y la evangelización de América

Abstract

Objective/Context: This article investigates how seven literati of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, whose works deal with geography and world history, interacted and negotiated with Jesuit narratives in Chinese on the “discovery” and evangelization of America. The main objective is to elucidate the differences and similarities between the two sides’ perspectives on these events, highlighting the role that the encounter between the universalisms of Confucianism and Christianity played in these interpretations. Methodology: A textual, comparative and historical-contextual analysis is employed, framed by Nicolas Standaert and Pingyi Chu’s theoretical perspectives on the Sino-Jesuit encounter as a case of cultural exchange. In it, knowledge was negotiated through the selection of textual elements and the restructuring of conceptual frameworks. In doing so, narratives about the “discovery” and evangelization of America in Chinese works are contrasted with Jesuit descriptions of these events and the contextual factors that determined both the creation of these narratives by the Jesuit mission in China and the reactions of Chinese scholars to them are investigated. Originality: This pioneering study examines the reception of early Chinese accounts of Euro-American contacts. It seeks to contribute to the field of Chinese and global intellectual history by discussing how a foundational event of the European worldview was re-signified from various perspectives by Chinese scholars interested in incorporating the «discovery» narratives into their works and integrating them into the path of Confucian universalism. Conclusions: The narratives about these events were discursive spaces where disputes and convergences between the civilizing projects of Christianity and Confucianism took place. The way in which Chinese scholars integrated them into their works reflects how the transmission of the Christian worldview was subjected to local frameworks that reinforced ethnocentric ideas. Inevitably, this led to the emergence of alternatives to European interpretations of American history in late imperial China. The latter challenged the European ethnocentric gaze, primarily grounded in the “discovery” and evangelization of America, and shows how Chinese scholars used their narratives to defend their civilization.

Keywords

• china-america
• chinese scholars
• christianity
• confucianism
• jesuits
• ming and qing dynasties