Abstract

The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven is Matteo Ricci's apologetics written in Chinese. This work is a hermeneutic reading and understanding of Chinese intellectual tradition from Christian theological-philosophical point of view. Following the missionary strategy of "complementing Confucianism while rejecting Buddhism and Taoism", Ricci's taking in or rejecting of Chinese intellectual tradition can be reduced to two phrases: accommodating Confucianism while rejecting Buddhism and Taoism, accommodating ancient Confucianism while rejecting Neo-Confucianism. ;Ricci's taking in some and rejecting other parts of Chinese intellectual tradition, especially his rejection of Neo-Confucianism and Buddhism and Taoism, aroused joint counter action against Christianity from orthodox Confucianist scholars and Buddhist monks. Theoretically, the counter arguments revolve around the main ideas of the True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven. And these counter arguments is a joint action from the special perspective of the three teachings in one to degend Chinese intellectual tradition. ;Ricci's attitude toward Chinese intellectual tradition was supported by his Chinese converts, though they maintained some reservation about Ricci's rejection of Neo-Confucianism. Yang Tingyun is the direct successor and expositor of Ricci's theological philosophy. Yang's apologetics accepted Ricci's approach, rejecting Buddhism and Taoism, but synthesizing Christianity with Confucianism. He developed a Confucian monotheism which had already come into shape in the True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven. ;The cross-cultural reading and thinking accomplished in the True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven, and the successful synthesis between Christianity and Confucianism it had made, contribute to the construction of Confucian monotheism by Chinese converts. In turns of its connection with Chinese intellectual tradition, the True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven itself involves Confucian monotheism. This, of course, is concerned with its central ideas and needs further explanation and argumentation