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The Reformation · 1603
The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven
Tianzhu Shiyi
Matteo Ricci · 1552–1610
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What it is
A dialogue between a Western scholar and a Chinese one, arguing for God from classical Confucian texts and against Buddhist and Neo-Confucian positions.
Why it lasted
The founding work of Christian theology written in Chinese for Chinese readers, and the basis of the accommodation policy the Vatican later suppressed.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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