The Catholic <i>Yijing</i>: Lü Liben’s Passion Narratives in the Context of the Qing Prohibition of Christianity

Abstract

&lt;i&gt;Yijing benzhi&lt;/i&gt; 易經本旨 (original meaning of the &lt;i&gt;Yijing&lt;/i&gt;, 1774) constitutes a unique piece of Christian literature produced by the Chinese Catholic believer L&amp;#252; Liben 呂立本 in the Qing period. Following in the footsteps of Jesuit missionaries such as Joachim Bouvet (1656&amp;#8722;1730), L&amp;#252; represents a rare Chinese voice of the Figurist interpretation of the &lt;i&gt;Yijing&lt;/i&gt; by claiming that ancient Chinese sages had received and recorded God&amp;#8217;s divine revelation in this venerated Chinese classic. Focusing on his narratives of Christ&amp;#8217;s Passion, this paper examines the ways in which L&amp;#252; interprets the symbolic meanings of the trigrams/hexagrams and deduces their theological connotations in light of Catholic thought. The interweaving of religious devotion, tradition and experience underpinned a creative re-interpretation of the Passion narratives, which strives to sustain the faith of Chinese Catholic communities in the context of the Qing prohibition and persecution of Christianity.