Life, thought and image of Wang Zheng : a Confucian-Christian in late Ming China / Ding Ruizhong

In late Ming China, Jesuit missionaries brought the Christian gospel into the Chinese Empire. Some Confucian literati, motivated by reforming the country, accepted Christian doctrine, and are generally termed "Confucian-Christians". In order to fully understand the dialogue between the two civilizations, this research explores the life, thought and image of Wang Zheng (1571-1644), a Confucian-Christian from Shaanxi in the inland of China. Wang Zheng's life and image are discussed in the text, from which we can grasp the theme of the key-part of this book: His thoughts. The second part describes Wang Zheng's thoughts - Revering Heaven and Caring for Human Beings, an integration of Confucian teachings and Christian doctrines. Wang Zheng used the Confucian concept of love Ren ai to interpret the Christian doctrines of loving God and loving others as yourself. He planted new contents into the Confucian concept of love. This coherent system of thought consists of three parts, i.e. knowing the Lord of Heaven, revering the Lord of Heaven and serving the Lord of Heaven.