礼仪之争与中国天主教徒——以福建教徒和颜的冲突为例

The Chinese Rites Controversy and Chinese Catholics:A Case Study of the Conflict between the Christians in Fujian Province and Bishop Charles Maigrot(1652—1730)

“中国礼仪之争”是中国天主教史上的一件大事,也是欧洲神学、哲学、伦理思想争论的一环。康熙中叶,中国天主教徒已有几十万之众,尽管他们和礼仪息息相关,但因传世材料极少,很难了解他们对这场争论的感受和想法。罗马耶稣会档案馆馆藏的有关中文信件证词等,正是这一方面难得的史料。通过对这些材料与当时西文出版物的比较,使得中国天主教史呈现更清晰的脉络。其中1700年间颜所颁禁令引起的反弹,以及继而发生的福建教徒与主教的冲突就是极好的例证。

The Chinese Rites Controversy is very important in the history of Christianity in China and is also a significant part of European theology,philosophy,and ethical thought.By the middle of the Kangxi reign(1662—1722),there were several hundred thousand Catholics in China,but assessing their attitudes to the Rites Controversy is difficult due to the scarcity of extant Chinese material on the topic.Fortunately,the many letters and testimonies from Chinese Catholics held in the Jesuit Archives in Rome provide a valuable resource.A comparison of these documents with Western publications presents a clearer and richer image of Christianity in China at that crucial time.As a case study,this paper will discuss the repercussions of the ban issued in 1700 and the conflict between the Christians in Fujian province and Bishop Charles Maigrot which flowed from it.