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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1693 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

1601–1700

The Seventeenth Century

2 works

1603

Chinese

The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven

Tianzhu Shiyi

Matteo Ricci · 1552–1610

A dialogue between a Western scholar and a Chinese one, arguing for God from classical Confucian texts and against Buddhist and Neo-Confucian positions.

Jesuit · Dialogue

c. 1607–1633

Chinese

The Christian and Scientific Writings

Xu Guangqi · 1562–1633

A senior Ming official's defence of Christianity as supplementing Confucianism and correcting Buddhism, alongside his translations of Euclid and works on agriculture.

Chinese Catholic · Treatises