Learned conversations on the heavenly studies: Andrzej Rudomina and his mission in late Ming Fujian

ENWhen examining the late Ming Christian records from the angle of the dialogue genre, one can discover subtle implications embedded in the learned conversations so popular among the Jesuit missionaries and Confucian converts. The Kouduo richao, as a paradigmatic work in this aspect, vividly shows how the dialogue form helped Rudomina and local converts in Fujian structure a self-other complex through mutual reinterpretations and negotiations. A shared Christian-Confucian identity was formed and transformed along with the instructive but interactive teachings on different parts- scientific, moral, spiritual, and visual- of the Heavenly Studies. It is a remarkable trajectory from literary dialogue to cultural dialogue connecting between single voices and collective voices, interpersonal discussions and intercultural negotiations, as well as textual meanings and contextual implications. It is true that Rudomina did not leave long-lasting impacts in the Fujian mission, but his oral instructions still deserve attention in a few aspects. First, he was a faithful follower of the Jesuits' adaptation strategy. The selective and adaptive stance was not only testified in the content of his teachings, but it also was embodied in his choice of the dialogue form to blend Confucian and Christian ways of knowledge transmission. Second, Rudomina in working along with Aleni contributed to the early development of the Fujian mission, especially in the provincial capital Fuzhou. His sickness did not stop him taking care of the regular church activities and receiving visitors while Aleni travelled to places near and afar. Third, and more importantly, through involvement in the learned conversations, Rudomina and Confucian converts successfully established a hybrid religious and cultural identity in late Ming Fujian. [p. 462].