Primar y Source Document with Questions ( DBQs) I C A N N O T D O O T H E R W I S E ( B U D E Y I ) ! B y Y a n g G u a n g x i a n ! Introduction Beginning in late sixteenth century, Portuguese merchants began coming to trade in southern China, bringing Jesuit priests along with them. Jesuits, notably the Italian Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), aimed to convert members of the scholar-official elite who, they hoped, would then assist in spreading their religion among the people. While welcomed by the late Ming and early Qing emperors for their expertise in areas such as astronomy, calendar-making, cannon and other firearms, and mathematics, the Jesuits made relatively few converts. By the late seventeenth century, Christianity faced growing opposition among the officials and from the imperial government. The following document concerning Christianity was written by the scholar and official Yang Guangxian (1597-1669) and is part of a series of essays denouncing Christianity written between 1659 and 1665. Document Exc erpts with Questions (Longer selection follows this section) From Sources of Chinese Tradition: From 1600 Through the Twentieth Century, compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Richard Lufrano, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), 151-152. © 2000 Columbia University Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. I"Cannot"Do"Otherwise"(Bu deyi)"By"Yang"Guangxian"!…!according!to!a !book!by![the!Christian!scholar]!Li!Zubo,1!the!Qing!dynasty!is!nothing!but!an!offshoot! of! Judea;!our! a ncient! Chinese! rulers,! sages, ! and! teachers!were!but ! the! offshoots! of! a!heterodox! sect;! and! our! classics! and! the! teachings! of! the! sages! propounded! generation! after!generation!are!no!mor e!than!the!remnants!of!a!heterodox!teaching.!How!can!one!abide!by!these!calumnies!!…!!Our!Confuc ian!teaching!is!based!on!the!Five!Relationships!(between!pare nt!and !child,!ruler!and!minister,! husband! and! wife,! older! and! younger! brothers,! and! friends),! whilst! the! Lord! of!Heaven!Jesus!was!crucified!because!he !plotted!against!his!own!country ,!show ing!that! he!did! not!recog nize!the!relationship!between!ruler!and!subject.!Mary,!the!mother!of!Jes us,!had!a!husband!names!Joseph,!but!she!said!Jesus !was!not!conceived!by!him.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!Li!Zubo,!Tianxue (quankai!(A(Summary(of(the(Propagation(of(Christianity,!1665).!Prim ary Source Docum ent, with Questions (DBQ) on I CANNOT DO OTHERWISE (BUDEYI) , BY YANG GUANGXIAN Asia for E ducators | Columbia Univ ersit y | http://afe.easia.colu mbia. edu Page 2 of 3 Questions: 1. On what grounds does Yang Guangxian criticize Christianity? 2. How do Yang’s arguments against Christianity compare to earlier Neo-Confucian arguments against Buddhism (as exemplified in Han Yu’s “Memorial on the Bone of the Buddha”)? 3. How would the Chinese Christian Zhang Xingyao rebut Yang’s arguments? Lo nger Selection From Sources of Chinese Tradition: From 1600 Through the Twentieth Century, compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Richard Lufrano, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), 151-152. © 2000 Columbia University Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. I"Cannot"Do"Otherwise"(Bu deyi)"By"Yang"Guangxian"!In![the ! Jesuit!Father]! A dam!Scha ll’s!own!preface!one!can!read!that![the!Christian!scholars]!Xu!Guangqi! and! Li! Zhizao! both! understood! that! they! could! not! dare! publicly! to! give! offense! to!Confucian!norms.!Adam!Schall’s!work!says!that!one!man!and!one!woman!were!created!as!the!first! ancestors! of! all ! humankind.! He! was! not! actually! so! bold! as! to! make! the! contemptuous!assertion!that!all!the!peoples!in!the!world!are!offshoot s!of!his!teaching,!but!according!to!a!book!by![the!Christian! scholar ]! Li!Zubo,2!the! Qi ng! dynasty!is!nothing!but! an!offshoot!of!Judea;!our!ancient!Chinese!rulers,!sages,!and!tea chers!were!but!the!offshoots!of!a!heterodox!sect;!and!our!classics!and!the!teachings!of!the!sages!propounded!generat ion!after!generation!are !no!more!t han!the!remnants! of!a! heterodox!teaching.! How! can! we ! abide!t hese!calumnies!!They!really!aim!to!inveigle! the! people! of! the! Qing! into! rebelling! aga inst! the ! Qin g! and! following! this! heterodox!sect,!which!would!lead!all‑under‑Heaven!to!abandon!respect!for!rulers!and!fathe rs.!…!!Our!Confuc ian!teaching!is!based!on!the!Five(Relationships!(between!pare nt!and !child,!ruler!and!minister,! husband! and! wife,! older! and! younger! brothers,! and! friends),! whilst! the! Lord! of!Heaven!Jesus!was!crucified!because!he !plotted!against!his!own!country ,!show ing!that! he!did! not!recog nize!the!relationship!between!ruler!and!subject.!Mary,!the!mother!of!Jes us,!had!a!husband!named!Joseph,!but!s he!said!Jesus!was!not!conceived!by!him.!!Those! who! follow! this! teach ing! [Christianity]! are! not! allowed! to! worship! their! ancesto rs! and!ancestral! ta blets.! They! do! not ! recognize! the! relationship! of! parent! and! child.! Their ! t eachers!oppose!the!Buddhists!and !Daoists,!who!do!recognize!the!relationship!betwee n!ruler!and!subject!and! father! and! son.! Jesus! did! not! recog nize! the! relationship! between! ruler! a nd! subject ! and!parent!and!child,!and!yet!the!C hristians!speak!of!him!as!recognizing!these!relationships.!What!arrant!nonsense!!…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2!See!f ootnote!1,!above.!Prim ary Source Docum ent, with Questions (DBQ) on I CANNOT DO OTHERWISE (BUDEYI) , BY YANG GUANGXIAN Asia for E ducators | Columbia Univ ersit y | http://afe.easia.colu mbia. edu Page 3 of 3 [The!Jesuit!Father]!M.!Ricci!wished!to!ho nor!Jesus!as!the!Lord!of! Heaven!(Tianzhu)( who!leads !the! m ultitude! of! nations! and! sages! from! above,! and! he! particularly! honored! him! by! citing!references! to!the! Lord‑on‑High!(Shangdi)(in!the!Six!Classics!of!China,! quoting! passages!out!of!context! to! prove! tha t! Jesus! was! the! Lord! of! He aven.! He! said! that! the! Lord! of! Heaven! was!referred!to!in!the!ancient!classical!works!as!the!Lord‑on‑High,!and!what!we!in!the!we st!call!“the!Lord! of! Heaven” ! is! what! the! Chinese! have! spoken! of! as! “the! Lord‑on‑High.”! [According! to!Ricci]! the!