Anthony E. Clark

This book represents the first monograph study of Jesuit religious theater in China and its connections to the commemoration of the Society’s martyrs of the late Qing. It considers the Society’s efforts to rehabilitate the Western imagination of China and the Jesuit aim of stirring emotional responses to stage performances that inculcate Catholic and Western sensibilities. By connecting the religious underpinnings of the Spiritual Exercises to the sumptuous Baroque expressions of Jesuit drama performed on China’s stages, this important work explores an entirely new area of research that weaves together several modes of analysis – visual, cultural, and nationalistic.

This book features a collection of essays on China’s modern Catholic Church by a scholar of China-West intellectual and religious exchange. The essays and reflections were mostly written in China while the author was traveling by train, or staying in villages or large cities near to Roman Catholic cathedrals or other important historical sites during research trips to the country. It is clear that Clark’s understanding of Catholicism in China evolved from the first entry to the final ones in 2019. The essays included in this compendium were written in disparate contexts and in response to different events. As such, there is no obvious theme or order to the content. However, despite this, the book provides valuable insights for readers wishing to gain a better understanding of the complex topography of Catholic history in China, the contours of which have undergone stark transformations with each dynastic, political, and ecclesial transition. The information presented serves to highlight and explain the lives of Catholic people and the events that have punctuated one of the most significant dimensions of China’s long history of friendship, conflict and exchange with the West.

This book is the first scholarly study of the famous Jesuit Chinese children’s primer, the Four Character Classic, written by Giulio Aleni (1582–1649) while living in Fujian, China. This book also includes masterful translations of both Wang Yinglin’s (1551–1602) hallowed Confucian Three Character Classic and Aleni’s Chinese catechism that was published during the Qing (1644–1911). Clark’s careful reading of the Four Character Classic provides new insights into an area of the Jesuit mission in early modern China that has so far been given little attention, the education of children. This book underscores how Aleni’s published work functions as a good example of the Jesuit use of normative Chinese print culture to serve the catechetical exigencies of the Catholic mission in East Asia, particularly his meticulous imitation of Confucian children’s primers to promote decidedly Christian content.

This book features a collection of essays on China’s modern Catholic Church by a scholar of China-West intellectual and religious exchange. The essays and reflections were mostly written in China while the author was traveling by train, or staying in villages or large cities near to Roman Catholic cathedrals or other important historical sites during research trips to the country. It is clear that Clark’s understanding of Catholicism in China evolved from the first entry to the final ones in 2019. The essays included in this compendium were written in disparate contexts and in response to different events. As such, there is no obvious theme or order to the content. However, despite this, the book provides valuable insights for readers wishing to gain a better understanding of the complex topography of Catholic history in China, the contours of which have undergone stark transformations with each dynastic, political, and ecclesial transition. The information presented serves to highlight and explain the lives of Catholic people and the events that have punctuated one of the most significant dimensions of China’s long history of friendship, conflict and exchange with the West.

As China struggled to redefine itself at the turn of the twentieth century, nationalism, religion, and material culture intertwined in revealing ways. This phenomenon is evident in the twin biographies of North China's leading Catholic bishop of the time, Alphonse Favier (1837–1905), and the Beitang cathedral, epicenter of the Roman Catholic mission in China through incarnations that began in 1701. After its relocation and reconstruction under Favier's supervision, the cathedral—and Favier—miraculously survived a two-month siege in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. Featuring a French Gothic Revival design augmented by Chinese dragon–shaped gargoyles, marble balustrades in the style of Daoist and Buddhist temples, and other Chinese aesthetic flourishes, Beitang remains an icon of Sino-Western interaction.Anthony Clark draws on archival materials from the Vatican and collections in France, Italy, China, Poland, and the United States to trace the prominent role of French architecture in introducing Western culture and Catholicism to China. A principal device was the aesthetic imagined by the Gothic Revival movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the premier example of this in China being the Beitang cathedral. Bishop Favier's biography is a lens through which to examine Western missionaries' role in colonial endeavors and their complex relationship with the Chinese communities in which they lived and worked.

The recent tide of books comparing Christianity and Buddhism has centered mostly on similarities. The Dalai Lama, for example, provided his opinions on Christianity in a popular book, The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus (1996). Other writers have equally sought to describe these two traditions as ""two paths to the same place."" Finding these approaches overly simplified, Anthony Clark confronts the distinctions between Buddhism and Catholic Christianity, acknowledging areas of confluence, but also discerning areas of abiding difference. Clark provides here a Catholic view of Buddhism that avoids obfuscations, seeking clarity for the sake of more productive dialogue. ""Catholicism and Buddhism is a scholarly yet accessible treatment of the relationship between Buddhist doctrine and Catholic theology. Clark observes that accurate understanding of the similarities and differences between these two religious traditions has been obscured by both ambitious ecumenism and the homogenizing impulses of modern secularism. . . . His engaging approach, grounded in a Catholic worldview, should assist Catholics in gaining clarity regarding the comparisons and contrasts of these two religions."" --Eric Cunningham, Gonzaga University ""Dr. Clark . . . explains how though some beliefs seem similar on the surface, on closer examination the religions are mapping a different terrain. At the same time, especially in the area of moral practice, he does show that there is some common ground. This book would be especially helpful for everyday believers who find many of our current efforts at inter-religious dialogue confusing, and even downright misleading."" --Thomas Reilly, Pepperdine University ""'Are Jesus and Buddha brothers' In clear, swift prose, Anthony Clark offers an answer. The result is a work of historical discrimination and sensitivity to everyday life and practice. But most striking is the quality of Dr. Clark's conviction--sharpened by years of patient listening and grounded in a loving attention to his neighbors. Weighty questions press for a response. As this book expertly shows, there is grace in a plain answer."" --Jeremy Wynne, Whitworth University Anthony E. Clark is the Edward B. Lindaman Endowed Chair and Associate Professor of History at Whitworth University. He is author of several books, including Heaven in Conflict: Franciscans and the Boxer Uprising in Shanxi (2015), China's Saints: Catholic Martyrdom during the Qing (2011), and the editor of China's Christianity: From Missionary to Indigenous Church (2017).

The recent tide of books comparing Christianity and Buddhism has centered mostly on similarities. The Dalai Lama, for example, provided his opinions on Christianity in a popular book, The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus (1996). Other writers have equally sought to describe these two traditions as ""two paths to the same place."" Finding these approaches overly simplified, Anthony Clark confronts the distinctions between Buddhism and Catholic Christianity, acknowledging areas of confluence, but also discerning areas of abiding difference. Clark provides here a Catholic view of Buddhism that avoids obfuscations, seeking clarity for the sake of more productive dialogue. ""Catholicism and Buddhism is a scholarly yet accessible treatment of the relationship between Buddhist doctrine and Catholic theology. Clark observes that accurate understanding of the similarities and differences between these two religious traditions has been obscured by both ambitious ecumenism and the homogenizing impulses of modern secularism. . . . His engaging approach, grounded in a Catholic worldview, should assist Catholics in gaining clarity regarding the comparisons and contrasts of these two religions."" --Eric Cunningham, Gonzaga University ""Dr. Clark . . . explains how though some beliefs seem similar on the surface, on closer examination the religions are mapping a different terrain. At the same time, especially in the area of moral practice, he does show that there is some common ground. This book would be especially helpful for everyday believers who find many of our current efforts at inter-religious dialogue confusing, and even downright misleading."" --Thomas Reilly, Pepperdine University ""'Are Jesus and Buddha brothers' In clear, swift prose, Anthony Clark offers an answer. The result is a work of historical discrimination and sensitivity to everyday life and practice. But most striking is the quality of Dr. Clark's conviction--sharpened by years of patient listening and grounded in a loving attention to his neighbors. Weighty questions press for a response. As this book expertly shows, there is grace in a plain answer."" --Jeremy Wynne, Whitworth University Anthony E. Clark is the Edward B. Lindaman Endowed Chair and Associate Professor of History at Whitworth University. He is author of several books, including Heaven in Conflict: Franciscans and the Boxer Uprising in Shanxi (2015), China's Saints: Catholic Martyrdom during the Qing (2011), and the editor of China's Christianity: From Missionary to Indigenous Church (2017).

One of the most violent episodes of China's Boxer Uprising was the Taiyuan Massacre of 1900, in which rebels killed foreign missionaries and thousands of Chinese Christians. This first sustained scholarly account of the uprising to focus on Shanxi Province illuminates the religious and cultural beliefs on both sides of the conflict and shows how they came to clash. Although Franciscans were the first Catholics to settle in China, their stories have rarely been explored in accounts of Chinese Christianity. Anthony Clark remedies that exclusion and highlights the roles of Franciscan nuns and their counterparts among the Boxers—the Red Lantern girls—to argue that women's involvement was integral on both sides of the conflict. Drawing on rich archival records and intertwining religious history with political, cultural, and environmental factors, Clark provides a fresh perspective on a pivotal encounter between China and the West.

One of the most violent episodes of China's Boxer Uprising was the Taiyuan Massacre of 1900, in which rebels killed foreign missionaries and thousands of Chinese Christians. This first sustained scholarly account of the uprising to focus on Shanxi Province illuminates the religious and cultural beliefs on both sides of the conflict and shows how they came to clash. Although Franciscans were the first Catholics to settle in China, their stories have rarely been explored in accounts of Chinese Christianity. Anthony Clark remedies that exclusion and highlights the roles of Franciscan nuns and their counterparts among the Boxers—the Red Lantern girls—to argue that women's involvement was integral on both sides of the conflict. Drawing on rich archival records and intertwining religious history with political, cultural, and environmental factors, Clark provides a fresh perspective on a pivotal encounter between China and the West.

While previous works on the history of Christianity in China have largely centered on the scientific and philosophical areas of Catholic missions in the Middle Kingdom, China's Saints recounts the history of Christian martyrdom, precipitated as it was by cultural antagonisms and misunderstanding. Anthony Clark shows that Christianity in China began and grew under similar circumstances to those during the Roman Empire, with the notable exception that Catholic missionaries were not successful at producing a "Chinese Constantine." One of the principal results of Catholic martyrdom in China was the increased indigenization of Christianity. During the reconstruction of mission churches, hospitals, and orphanages after the hostilities of the Boxer Uprising (1898–1900), the Roman Catholic tradition of venerating martyrs was attached to the reinvigoration of Christian communities. Not only did Catholic architecture accommodate to Chinese sensibilities, but causes for sainthood were also begun at the Vatican to add Chinese names to the Church's list of saints. The implications of Clark's work extend beyond the subject of Christianity in China to the broader fields of cultural, social, economic, political, and religious history. This pioneering study follows the trails of Western missionaries and Chinese converts as they negotiate the religious and cultural chasms that existed between the West and China, and it demonstrates that these differences resulted in two very different outcomes. Whereas converts appear to have bridged the cultural divide, often to the point of self-sacrifice, political and cultural tensions on the macro level sometimes ended with forceful conflicts. This book contributes to a deeper understanding of cultural and religious interaction, and provides an account of an heretofore unstudied chapter in the history of Christianity on the global landscape.

While previous works on the history of Christianity in China have largely centered on the scientific and philosophical areas of Catholic missions in the Middle Kingdom, China's Saints recounts the history of Christian martyrdom, precipitated as it was by cultural antagonisms and misunderstanding. Anthony Clark shows that Christianity in China began and grew under similar circumstances to those during the Roman Empire, with the notable exception that Catholic missionaries were not successful at producing a "Chinese Constantine." One of the principal results of Catholic martyrdom in China was the increased indigenization of Christianity. During the reconstruction of mission churches, hospitals, and orphanages after the hostilities of the Boxer Uprising (1898–1900), the Roman Catholic tradition of venerating martyrs was attached to the reinvigoration of Christian communities. Not only did Catholic architecture accommodate to Chinese sensibilities, but causes for sainthood were also begun at the Vatican to add Chinese names to the Church's list of saints. The implications of Clark's work extend beyond the subject of Christianity in China to the broader fields of cultural, social, economic, political, and religious history. This pioneering study follows the trails of Western missionaries and Chinese converts as they negotiate the religious and cultural chasms that existed between the West and China, and it demonstrates that these differences resulted in two very different outcomes. Whereas converts appear to have bridged the cultural divide, often to the point of self-sacrifice, political and cultural tensions on the macro level sometimes ended with forceful conflicts. This book contributes to a deeper understanding of cultural and religious interaction, and provides an account of an heretofore unstudied chapter in the history of Christianity on the global landscape.