The Ming and Qing Chinese biographies of Augustine

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article addresses the transmission history of biographies of St. Augustine to China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is divided into two parts: Catholicism and Protestantism. Hagiographic styles influenced Augustine’s Catholic biography, in general taking Augustine as a saint to be commemorated, or as a saintly teacher in the Church to be studied. Protestant accounts of Augustine are close to modern-day biography, but it is also influenced by the writers’ missionary stances, laying particular emphasis on the missionary goal and context. When translating and introducing the type of content, the authors show their religious inclination.