Though a minority religion in Vietnam, Christianity has been a significant presence in the country since its arrival in the sixteenth-century. Anh Q. Tran offers the first English translation of the recently discovered 1752 manuscript Tam Giáo Chư Vọng (The Errors of the Three Religions). Structured as a dialogue between a Christian priest and a Confucian scholar, this anonymously authored manuscript paints a rich picture of the three traditional Vietnamese religions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. The work explains and evaluates several religious beliefs, customs, and rituals of eighteenth-century Vietnam, many of which are still in practice today. In addition, it contains a trove of information on the challenges and struggles that Vietnamese Christian converts had to face in following the new faith.
Besides its great historical value for studies in Vietnamese religion, language, and culture, Gods, Heroes, and Ancestors raises complex issues concerning the encounter between Christianity and other religions: Christian missions, religious pluralism, and interreligious dialogue.
Author(s): Anh Q Tran
Series: Religion in Translation
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 385
City: New York
Cover
Series
Gods, Heroes, and Ancestors
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part ONE: Errors of the Three Religions in Context
1. When the Cross Met the Lotus: Catholic Mission in Tonkin During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
Tonkin of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century
The Development of Catholicism in Tonkin
Reception of Christianity in Tonkin
The Rites Controversy and Its Impact in Vietnam
2. Text and Context: Errors of the Three Religions
Defending the True Faith
The Text: History, Content, and Method
3. Of Gods and Heroes: Worship in Traditional Vietnam
An Overview of Traditional Vietnamese Worship
A Christian Evaluation of Traditional Worship
4. In the Realm of the Dead: Filial Piety and Ancestral Worship
Vietnamese Anthropology and Ancestral Worship
The Ancestral Rites in Practice
A Christian Interpretation of the Cult of the Ancestors
5. Refutation and Dialogue: Christianity vis-à-vis the Three Religions
The Theological Message of Errors
The Legacy of Errors of the Three Religions
Meeting the Religious Others
Conclusion
Part TWO: An Annotated Translation of TAM GIÁO CHƯ VỌNG
Preface
Book 1: The Errors of Confucianism
Book 2: The Errors of Daoism
Book 3: The Errors of Buddhism
Appendix A: Adriano di Santa Thecla’s Opusculum
Appendix B: Glossary of Sino-Vietnamese Terms Used in the Translation
Bibliography
Index
