Edited and translated by Anh Q. Tran
Though a minority religion in Vietnam, Christianity has been a significant presence in the country since its arrival in the sixteenth-century. Now, Anh Q. Tran brings to light, for the first time translated into English, the 1752 manuscript Tam Giáo Chu Vong (The Errors of the Three Religions).
Structured as a dialogue between a Christian priest and a Confucian, this anonymously authored manuscript paints a rich picture of the three traditional Vietnamese religions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. The work explains and evaluates many religious 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 enormous historical value for studies in Vietnamese religion,
language, and culture, Gods, Heroes, and Ancestors raises contemporary and highly complex issues concerning the encounter between Christianity and other religions: Christian missions, religious pluralism, and interreligious dialogue.
Introduction
PART I: The Errors of Three Religions in Context
1. When the Cross Met the Lotus: Catholic Mission in Tonkin During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
2. Text and Context: The Errors of The Three Religions
3. Of Gods and Heroes: Worship in
Traditional Vietnam
4. In the Realm of the Dead: Filial Piety and Ancestral Worship
5. Refutation and Dialogue: Christianity vis-à-vis the Three Religions
Conclusion
PART II: An Annotated Translation of Tam Giao Chu Vong
Appendix A: A Comparison between the
Errors and the Opusculum
Appendix B: Glossary of Sino-Vietnamese Terms in the Text
Appendix C: Chinese Names and Their Sino-Vietnamese Equivalents
Bibliography
Index
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Anh Q. Tran is Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.
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